


Hunting Dragons in Brisbane

by bluetoast



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alpha Ben Solo, Alpha Rey (Star Wars), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Australia, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Dirty Talk, Dirty Thoughts, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Flowers, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Smut, Light Bondage, Masturbation, Masturbation in Shower, Mentions of Cancer, Naughty Thoughts, Rey Needs A Hug, Single Dad Ben Solo, Smut, meet cute, mentions of drug abuse, weather is a plot point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2019-10-16 07:42:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 43,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17545532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluetoast/pseuds/bluetoast
Summary: If it hadn't been raining, Rey Johnson never would have gone into the ceramic painting studio at the far end of the line of shops. She's lived in Australia for over a year and still isn't used to the reversed seasons, the weather, and the last thing she's looking for is a mate, she just wants a place to wait out another stormy afternoon.Ben Solo came to Brisbane six years ago, after a harrowing career in the modeling industry to help his grandparents with the family shop - he's not looking to complicate his life any further than it currently is. It doesn't help that his gran and grandpa are always on the lookout to find their only grandchild a mate.





	1. Chapter 1

If it wasn't pouring down rain, Rey would have never gone into the shop on the corner of the strip mall. A wide, rushing river of flood water flowed through the parking lot, separating her from her car on the other side. She would never get used to the stormy afternoons of Brisbane. Oh, she could run across the lot, but not in her pumps or in her bare feet – knowing her luck, she'd trip, fall – and destroy not only everything she wore, but everything in her arms too. A bell jangled upon her entry, and she frowned, looking around before glancing behind her to check the name on the door - _Naberrie Notions._

Shelves holding plain white plates, bowls, teapots, teacups – all manner of unpainted items filled the shelves lining the front walls, with a cluster of tables in the front of the room. A Christmas tree strewn with unpainted ornaments stood in a corner, and colored lights circled the large front window – the actual holiday wasn't for another month, but she supposed it made sense. A female omega and two children currently occupied one of the tables, and she looked up and gave Rey a small smile before turning back to her work. From the overhead speakers, music played – something she knew she'd heard before, but not in the context of how it was orchestrated.

“Good afternoon, dear,” a sweet, grandmotherly voice broke into Rey's thoughts and she turned to see a gray haired woman sitting behind a tall counter; a beta. “Do you want to paint or are you avoiding the wicked weather out there?” 

“Could I use your washroom, please?” She set her umbrella against the wall, joining several others and adjusting her hold on her messenger bag and document tubes. Thunder crashed outside, and the lights flickered once. 

“Of course, it's down the corridor, second door on your right.” the woman gave her another smile. “Mind the shelves against the wall, please.” 

“Sure.” She ducked past the tables and through an open area of the store and a counter held re-purposed paint buckets full of all manner of brushes and other art supplies. She came to the mentioned corridor, a long shelf on the right full of completed ceramics waited, each shelf labeled with a day of the week. She hadn't taken more than three steps into this part of the store when the scent of two alpha males nearly knocked her over, one mated, one not. Keeping her face perfectly even, she went into the ladies, resting against the door. 

“Shit.” She muttered, setting her bag and the blueprint cases around her shoulders down. Pressing her thumb into the lock , she went to the sink, more to give her time to think than anything else. Her meeting with the people redeveloping the old bowling alley on the other side of the little mall had run long – and right now, she wished she'd gone straight to her car instead of stopping at the Shake Shack three doors down from the place and returned to her office. “Owners should do something about the damn parking lot.” 

The other businesses in the cluster of shops had included a boutique selling overpriced baby clothing and a half-a-dozen domestic related businesses – no bookstores, or she'd have chosen it as a place to stay; and they usually frowned on the public using their facilities without buying anything. Not that she'd ever managed to come out of a bookstore empty handed. Riding out the storm in some little crafting studio wasn't the worst option, and at least she was inside and mostly dry. “Okay, so maybe the onion rings make getting stuck here worth it.” She chuckled, washing her hands thinking of the lunch she'd eaten. 

“Padme?” A man's voice spoke outside. “You want to go eat? I can take over out here.” 

Rey turned the water off, grimacing at her reflection. When she'd received an offer to work for Erso Architecture in Australia, she'd had her bags half-packed before the acceptance email had reached the director of the firm – leaving England without a single regret. Raised in a group home in London, her attempts at turning her fellow orphans into a family of their own never worked. Mainly due to most of them being temporary residents, either returned to their families or found new ones.

Rey's parents had abandoned her at a hospital at the age of five, and for the next ten, she waited for at least one of them to come back for her. They were omegas, both of them – and logic and nature determined at least one of them would have returned, or grandparents come looking. She might have continued to wait if she hadn't hacked into her files at sixteen and found she's spent the first three months of her life in the neonatal unit of the same hospital where her parents would later leave her.

Learning you were born addicted to crack and some damn idiot, instead of declaring her parents unfit, simply handed her back to them because – well, _omegas_ , and _of course_ they would take good care of her from now on. They must have simply gotten overwhelmed or some other such bullshit she never believed. She'd lived un their care until she was five and gotten rid of her – and, she would never learn why. Two months after her abandonment, both of her parents had died overdosing on heroin.

Which had cleared her from 'temporary custody' to 'adoptable' in the Children Services Department. Except for one little problem....

Alpha females were never adopted. 

Squaring her shoulders, she fixed the barrette in her hair, trying to shift her thoughts to more important things. She didn't need to return to her office, as soon as the weather cleared, she could take her work back home and figure out how many dance floors could come from the reclaimed wood of fourteen bowling lanes. “Better to reclaim it than throw it away.” She gathered up her things as a crash of thunder echoed above her and the rain seemed to increase tenfold. 

She opened the door, catching the scents again, and walked back into the main part of the studio. The woman at the counter must have taken the lunch suggestion; a man sat in her place, and as she approached, she noted the wheelchair sitting by the counter. A dark red scarf with some sort of yellow design on it wrapped around his head, and she wondered if he was going through chemo or simply bald until she caught sight of his face. A horrid burn scar ran from under the brim of the scarf and down under his shirt; his arms, bare from the elbow down, bore more scars; molted with shiny patches. He gave her a smile as she came level with the counter. “Afternoon.”

“Afternoon.” She bit at her bottom lip, glancing back out the windows as the gushing rain. “Exactly how long does one have to live in this city before they're used to the weather doing this?” She gestured towards the outdoors.

“I don't know. I've lived here for over sixty years and I'm still not used to it.” The man chuckled. “It's our burden for living in a place free of ice and snow. I thought my daughter was out of her mind when she moved to Toronto.” He gave her a once over. “Would you like to paint something? You can never have too many tea mugs.” 

“True.” She went over to the table nearest the counter, setting her things in one of the chairs and fishing her phone from the bag. No messages. Gods bless Australia and their continued love of tea. “And a few of mine broke on the move here.” she went to examine the shelves of mugs and heard the woman and her children get up behind her. 

A rack hung on the wall, with completed plates set into place, ranging from a round plate done to look like the inside of a watermelon, another replicated the Australian flag, and the third bore a spiral daisy chain. Someone had spent a serious amount of time on each of them. Shrugging, she scanned the mugs before deciding on a stout pint sized one. She'd had one this size when she lived in London, her favorite – and, when she opened her bag here in Australia, she discovered it in half a dozen pieces among her shirts where she'd carefully tucked it for safekeeping. 

Her attempt to glue it back together had only made the problem worse. It fell off the table and shattered anew, and she'd fairly cried over having to chuck in in the rubbish bin. Stupid to get so upset over a tea mug, she knew, but still...

“When will they be ready?” The woman asked the man at the counter, lifting the younger of the children into her arms. 

“Our usual time frame is around one week for firing and we leave items for two weeks after for pick up.” He kept his focus on the computer/register, ringing them up and Rey wandered past the four of them to look over the glazes. The smell of the second male was stronger in this area; she'd all but forgotten about him until she'd come near the brushes. 

Rey smiled absently as she wrote down the corresponding glaze numbers on her small sheet of paper and selected a few brushes. She'd not done any artistic work simply for fun in years, outside of the doodles in her notebooks during college. 

“You going to need a large amount of any of the glazes?” A voice said from her right and she glanced over; the second male; and looked every inch the alpha. 

She shook her head. “No, thank you.” 

“I'll take that and you can have a seat.” He indicated the slip of paper and she handed it to him. “I'll get those right over to you.” 

“Sure.” She nodded in thanks and crossed back to the table she'd left her things at, swearing her heels sounded twice as loud as normal as she did. Setting the brushes down, she took a seat and picked up the sponge from the bowl in the middle of the table and wiped her selected mug, cleaning away the dust. 

The mother left with her two children, and she heard the old man a made a condescending noise. “When the hell are they going to do something about the parking lot?” 

Rey wiped out the inside of the mug. “They need for someone to drown or for someone to have extensive damage done to their luxury vehicle.” 

“Point.” The younger man set one of the little palettes of glaze on her table. “Let me know if you need more.” 

“Ben, could you take over out here?, I'm going to join your gran.” the man at the counter said. 

“Sure.” He headed for the counter. “Any chance I can change the play-list?” 

“Not on your life, young man. I've heard the junk you listen to.” the older alpha lowered himself into his wheelchair. “And don't tell me it isn't rubbish.” He chuckled. “Besides, this is the Beatles.” 

“Yeah, and I've heard Yellow Submarine four times today already.” Ben shook his head as the older man went down the corridor. “This time next week, nothing but Christmas music and there's more Mannheim Steamroller than Trans-Siberian Orchestra.” 

Rey barely contained her snort. “There's worse holiday music.” She shrugged. “I've come to the conclusion the places you frequent the most play the songs you hate on repeat.” 

“Ben, why don't you ask the nice lady if she'd like to go for coffee sometime soon?” The woman's voice called up towards them. 

Ben's face went completely pink and he covered his eyes. “Pretend you didn't hear them, please.” 

“I don't drink coffee anyway.” Rey turned her focus on her mug. “Only grandchild?” 

“How'd you guess?” He coughed and cleared his throat. “Though would you enjoy going for some onion rings and ignoring sugar amounts next week when you have to come back for your finished piece?” 

“Let me think about it.” She answered, turning her attention to cleaning her mug. 

*

Ben had no idea what possessed him to ask the woman – Rey - in the studio this afternoon - out. She'd taken a business card with his cell number scrawled on the back and stated she would call by the end of the week, and he still felt like an ass for doing it. It wasn't the first time either of his grandparents suggested he do such a thing; usually to his great embarrassment. But he supposed it was far better than letting them set him up with the grandchild of one of their many friends. When he'd moved to Australia five years ago to help them with Naberrie Notions, he was fresh from a toxic career in the modeling industry and finding a mate low on his priority list. 

Now it seemed finding someone for their grandson had become his grandparents new favorite pastime. He could understand if he'd turned forty on his birthday two weeks ago instead of thirty-six, but the way they acted, his grandfather particularly, he might as well have turned fifty. They couldn't exactly harp on him about having children, considering he already had one, finding a mate and settling into having more made him tired just thinking about it. 

He set the last ornament into the kiln, yawning. Firing nights were usually long, dull – and he was stuck with them until the fourth term ended and Rose could take shifts during the week. He put the lid down, locking it in place and turning the machine on. The low, steady thrum from within began and he yawned again as he walked out of the kiln room, knowing he'd have all three of them going before midnight. Rey's mug stood in the second kiln, flanked by a dozen other mugs from a birthday party yesterday. 

“Pity I can't do my laundry here...” Ben mumbled as he straightened up the glaze counter, pulling out the bottles in need of replenishment. It wasn't he minded taking over his maternal great-grandparent's store someday – he would have liked the option to refuse, but his mother's cousins had all left Brisbane for other parts of Australia and New Zealand years ago. The family scattered, his parents brought him up in Toronto; and sort of expected it would come to this when he went to college. So he'd majored in business with a minor in art. The lone alpha in the department, he'd remained a properly oblivious – and in his mind, respectful – distance from his fellow students, omegas one and all.

Finding his face the subject of over half of his sketching class's final pieces had made him want to crawl under the floor tiles. Particularly since his was of the plant on top of the filing cabinet in the ceramics studio he'd spent the semester longing to hurl to floor for no other reason than it annoyed him.

As for his time spent in the modeling industry – the less said and the less he thought about it the better.

“Time for a change.” He logged out of his grandmother's Spotify account and switched to his, sweeping around to the tables as the Proclaimers started blaring from the overhead speakers. He cleared the things from the work spaces quickly, and rolled up the paper lining the tables. “Trash can wait.” He stuffed the paper into the rubbish bin. 

His phone buzzed in his back pocket, and he took it out, frowning at the unfamiliar number – normally, he'd ignore and block the number, but there was something he'd always wanted to do.... “I've done as you asked.” he lowered his voice. “But there's blood everywhere, I don't think any of it's mine.” 

“He deserved it, the cheating bastard.” A woman's voice returned, followed by a rather amused chuckle. “Ben Solo?” She cleared her throat. “It's Rey Johnson...do you remember me?” 

Ben went pink. “Oh, damn... yeah... sorry about...” 

“Don't worry, I needed the amusement.” She coughed to cover a laugh. “I've always wanted to do that to an unknown number too, but I never want to risk it, in case it's a client.” 

“Your mug isn't ready, I'm afraid.” He walked back to the sinks, tucking the phone under his chin so he could pour out the water in the bowls. “maybe the day after tomorrow.” 

“Oh, I'm not worried, I left it in good hands.” Rey cleared her throat. “I know you offered onion rings and ice cream sodas next week, but I wanted to ask if you would possibly consider attending a holiday party this Friday with me.” She paused. “It's my work's party, I went alone last year and I'm never doing that again.” 

Ben smirked. “Let me guess, you can't miss the party or people will talk, or something?” 

“Yeah.” She chuckled. “I know, little weird of me to just call you up, we've shared what, five minutes of conversation?” He heard a rustling noise on her end – sorting mail, maybe? “Look, I'll understand if you say no, and...” 

“What's the dress code?” He wasn't working this Friday night; Rose's turn kiln sit, and he could find a babysitter for his daughter with ease. “Where do you work anyway?”

“Dressy, borderline semi-formal, so I guess to translate it into guy's clothes, button up shirts and ties, dinner jackets optional.” She covered another cough. “Stupid allergies. I work for Erso Architecture. I don't know if you know...”

“Yeah, the people who're redoing half the empty businesses in the area around Naberrie Notions.” He smiled. “Any chance you can tell me who's moving into the old bowling alley?” 

“Dance studio.” A clicking noise came from her end, the shuffling noise over– fingers on a keyboard. “I'm tasked with, among other things, trying to figure out how many dance floors I can get from the wood salvaged from the lanes.” She took a breath. “I can text you the details for the party... if you'd like to come.” 

Ben dried his hands on his apron. “Are we fake dating, simply friends, or pretending the whole situation is a blind date and we never had this conversation?” 

Rey chuckled again. “You don't have a side job writing for soap operas, do you?” 

“No, I work in a place where teenagers and college students of a certain type tend to congregate.” He laughed. “I listened to four of them have a lively discussion of a love triangle between Loki, Doctor Strange, and Tony Stark not an hour ago.” 

“Do you always talk this much?” The clicking noise on Rey's end stopped. 

“Depends, do you ask a lot of questions to a total stranger in your first phone conversation with them?” He retorted.

“Comes with the job, I tell you, the instant a client tells me they want color in their projects and not a dozen neutral shades, half of them gray, I want to toss in a free set of throw pillows for their couch.” She paused, “I don't design houses or buildings as much as redesign existing ones.”

“Erso Architecture, turning Abandoned Australia into New Australia.” He replied, remembering the adverts he'd seen for her employer. “Everyone knows Galen Erso designed the airport, well, almost everyone.” He paused. “Didn't Jyn Erso create a few of the venues of the Sydney Games?”

“She did!” Her tone brightened, “so it's a yes for the party then?” 

Ben smiled. “Absolutely, Duchess,” he took a breath, deciding he best get the next part out of the way, “I can find a babysitter before tomorrow afternoon, I may even have the usual line up fighting for the right.” 

“Duchess?” She scoffed, “where'd that come from?”

He picked up a glaze palette and turned the water on. “Your accent. Sorry, didn't mean to offend you.” 

“Not offended.” She made an odd noise, “oh fuck, I forgot about the casserole!” an extra loud thump came from her end before he heard the sound of footsteps – she must have dropped the phone and run to her kitchen. He could hear an assortment of noises: a metallic clang, followed by another curse, and a series of odd bangs he couldn't place. He finished rinsing off the palettes and set them to dry, about ready to believe Rey had forgotten about their conversation and hang up when he heard her out-of-breath apology. “Sorry.... and did you say you had to find a babysitter?”

“Not a problem, are you okay?” He turned off the water, glad she didn't sound too freaked out. “Nothing burnt or on fire?”

“No.” Rey mumbled, “little overdone, but still edible...you washing dishes?” 

“Sort of. I'm at work – cleaning and kiln sitting.” He sighed. “Even in the modern day, with electric kilns, they still need watching, and yes, I'm going to need a babysitter. It's an extremely complicated situation, most of which I don't know you well enough to go into detail yet.”

“Do you have a simplified version you feel comfortable sharing?” She cleared her throat, “you're not mated, I could tell when I met you, I mean...” 

He leaned against the wall, managing a weak smile, “my daughter's name is Cora, after the mom on _Downton Abbey._ She's four years old, her biological mother, whom she never sees, lives in Montreal, and her other mother lives in Vancouver and sends packages and cards for holidays.”

“You're right, that does sound complicated, I'll try not to ask about it too much on Friday.” He heard a soft thump on her end, followed by more rustling. “Is it me, or does it feel like we just fell into one of those super cheesy holiday movies?”

“A little...” he grinned, “but I think for the pattern to work, you'd have to have met my daughter first. Although how, I'm not certain.” 

*

Rey glowered at her alarm clock as she sat up in bed. She'd not gotten much sleep; she had only herself to blame – she'd chosen to stay up and do laundry and clean instead of getting some rest. She'd sleep tonight. She turned the device off, threw the covers aside and padded into her kitchen, filling her electronic kettle on auto-pilot, and opened the tea canister, frowning as she dug through it, and did not find a single packet of English Breakfast. “Earl Gray works just as good.” She arranged the bag in her mug as she waited for the water to heat.

She leaned back against the counter, picking up her phone. What friends she left in London rarely texted her anymore; too busy with their own lives; and she felt she didn't belong in them anymore. She'd left the UK two years ago – and some days, it felt like two lifetimes. “What the hell?” 

The first text of the six in her in-box took her a few seconds to work out – the camera looked down into a loaded kiln, though she couldn't tell which mug was hers. Under the photo the caption read – _Estimated time to firing – 1 minute and closing._

“Benjamin Solo, you're weird.” she flipped to the next text; another photograph, this of a closed kiln, the blue numbers slightly blurry, the caption reading _Hour One – warming up._

The idea of getting hourly updates on the process of her mug's firing made her chuckle. Although she wasn't going to pretend she didn't keep track of the progress of her pizzas when she ordered them. 

The kettle shrieked as the water hit boiling, and she rubbed the back of her neck as she filled her mug. The third photograph revealed an internal temperature in the kiln, well over four hundred degrees – and the fourth showed a temp even higher. “Wonder if you could program it to bake bread.” She snickered and finished up the photo-set, the fifth showing the temp back down around three hundred, and the last had the kiln lid partially open, sent shortly after five this morning.

“I should do something similar today for him.” She picked up the string on her teabag and moved it around the cup, sighing. “Wonder what else he does while he's stuck there...” she paused, “paint ceramics, most likely.” 

The pieces she'd seen on display would take hours to do; and in the middle of the night, with no distractions – and certainly not having to pay a sitting fee, it made perfect sense. She could distinctly remember the doll-sized tea set which couldn't even get washed and dried from dust in under thirty minutes. Not that she had any call for something so frivolous – and anyone with that kind of time, money, and reason – well... “You need to stop thinking about him.” 

She tossed the teabag into the sink to drain and added half-a-spoonful of sugar to her cup, stirring it quickly and leaning against the counter. True, in this the so-called modern age, over half the population of the world were betas; the alphas and the omegas weren't equally divided in the remainder. Some strange reminder of when mankind had larger problems, and while some people maintained the numbers had started to rise, particularly in parts of the world with a low population, Rey didn't give it much thought.

Despite mankind's advances, alphas and omegas still were seen as a genetic anomaly; something undesirable, at least, when it came to certain parts of life. In truth, most betas were undeserving of having an omega for a mate; and while the alpha part of her wanted to do her part in the grand scheme, she had to take care of herself first – and she'd worry about having a mate later. She had plenty of time.

*

Ben closed the washer door and hit the start button. He'd meant to put the first load of laundry in the machine before he left for work, but he'd had to pack food and Cora's overnight bag instead, wondering how the weekly event had snuck up on him once again. Yawning, he walked into the kitchen, double checking the water and kibble levels in his cat's food bowls before going through the rest of the house to fall onto his bed, groaning. He could do with more than the handful of hours he suspected he would get; and he pulled one of the pillows towards him, curling up as he hugged it. 

At least the house, for the most part, stayed clean. Neither he nor Cora were messy by nature, and while the place might seem a little large for the two of them, he didn't care. This was their home; already paid for in full – the lack of car and house payments every month did wonders for his savings. The ceramics shoppe might not have the paychecks modeling did, but at the end of the day, he got to go home – and didn't have to maintain the facade of always looking perfect, or watching what he ate. 

The day after he'd gotten out and received his severance pay, he'd eaten a pint of chocolate peanut butter ice cream in paint-stained sweats and a faded Captain America shirt, watching Food Network and yelled at contestants on Chopped. Quite possibly one of the best days of his life, ever. 

Two weeks later, he packed up his life and flew to Australia, end of a grim chapter and the start of a new one.

He still spoke to some of his former colleagues, mainly those who had previously shut doors open wide with his departure. 

Despite having so much of his life in order, Ben still hadn't thought of settling down. He had fleeting thoughts of it; nothing particularly serious. He'd not had a serious relationship since college – and the omega broke up with him to date an alpha female. Five years ago, he'd agreed to help the two of them have a baby; only for the happy couple to end up separating and they'd given him custody of the girl; all of week old at the time. 

“You need to get some sleep.” He muttered into the pillow as the noise of two jangling collars came towards him, and heard two meows – followed by two thumps as his cats got onto the bed with him. “It's not playtime.” He didn't open his eyes as the fluffier of the two cats, Camille, burrowed under his arm to nuzzle against his neck. “Where's...” something curled up against the back of his head and began to purr hard into his ear. “Leroux....” 

The cat's responded by letting out a single meow before going back to purring.

“Fine, we'll all sleep.” He sighed, shifting to lie on his back, and he reached down to grab the blanket folded at the foot of his bed, pulling it up to his chest and closed his eyes, barely reacting as the air conditioner kicked on with a hum. 

As horribly hot as it got here in Brisbane, he'd take it over having to get out in the snow and ice of Toronto any day of the year. He needed to get some rest – Finn would drop off Cora a little after two, and he wanted to have the laundry done by then.

*

Rey woke up on Friday morning questioning her sanity. She'd not talked to Ben since Wednesday, not out of texts and right now, she wondered whatever possessed her to ask an almost complete stranger to accompany her to a work function. The only good thing about the whole party situation was everyone left the office early and the party wasn't held on the premises, but at the Lighthouse Restaurant, down overlooking the coast, the same place they had it every year, and the tapas they served made the trouble of getting there worth it. 

“Knock knock.” A voice came from the entrance of her small office, “I catch you daydreaming?” 

She kicked her foot so she could swivel the chair around to face her boss. “Not exactly, Jyn.” She glanced back at her drafting board. “Only so many ways to rearrange a floor plan.” She straightened her shoulders. “What's up?”

“You mean apart from the fact you're the only person under thirty who works here who hasn't taken off yet?” The woman folded her arms, leaning against the threshold. “You're still planning on attending the party tonight, yes?”

She nodded, rubbing her temple. “I don't know how long I'm going to stay...you know.... crowds.” 

“I know.” She made a slight face. “There's a reason I take sedatives before I get on a plane.” She straightened up. “We should host a gathering at the zoo sometime. Not in the summer, mind you. Though sometimes, I find it hard to think of our winter weather as cold.” 

“It's a winter in name only.” Rey straightened up, “I should have the floor plans for the dance studio by Wednesday.” 

Jyn held up her hand. “Not what I came to talk to you about. I came by to see if you'd like to take on a larger project than reconfiguring shopping centers.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Riverside is planning to build a new secondary school. They've asked for some proposals and renderings.” The woman gave her a smile. “You think you can have both on my desk by the tenth of January?” 

She did some quick math; the deadline was one month and five days from now. “What's the budget and the dimensions of the lot?” 

The woman grinned. “I'll send those to your work email before the end of the day.” She glanced at her watch. “Or within the hour. Where is this afternoon going?” 

“Right out the window, from what I can tell.” Rey sighed. Having a project to keep her occupied and her mind off the holidays was exactly what she needed. She spent her Christmases eating pizza and watching horribly cheesy movies. “How did December get here so fast?”

“No idea. I swear, it was August last week.” She gave her a slight nod. “See you at the party, Rey.” 

“Sure.” She nodded as the woman walked away and she spun around to look at her drafting board, pulling her day planner towards her and flipping through it, going to January to mark her deadline for the new project, her smile falling slightly when she caught sight of the bright orange circle around the seventh. The day her next heat was due to start. “Shit.” she muttered under her breath and scrawled _all December projects finished and turned in on the fifth_ – giving her exactly thirty days to get everything done. “Note to self, get groceries this Sunday.” 

 

*

“Daddy, why are you dressed up?” Cora's voice came from the doorway of Ben's room, and he turned to look at her, smiling. “You only get dressed up when we go to grand-nana's house.”

He turned off the light in the master suite and came over, crouching down in front of her. “I'm going out, honey. This weekend, I'm going to go out and won't be home until well after your bedtime, so you're going to have a sleepover with Peter. Next weekend, Uncle Finn and Uncle Poe will go out, and Peter's coming here.” 

She wrinkled her nose, “can we put the Christmas tree up this weekend?” 

“Maybe, Cora-bean, if we get all the weekend chores done before we go to see the old folks for dinner.” He grinned, “though we don't call them that, do we?”

“No!” She grinned, rocking on her feet. His daughter was almost his exact copy; save for her nose, ears, and, judging from her current size – his height. “Can I take one of the kitties with me?”

He swept her up and carried her from the bedroom, setting her down on one of the bar-stools in the kitchen. “That's a lot of packing we don't have time for. Poe and Finn don't have a litter box or the right kind of kibble, and you know how picky the cats are about food.” 

“I eat what's put in front of me.” She gave him a look, “why can't the cats?”

“Because they're carnivores.” He went over to the fridge and took out a plastic container. “besides, you're taking the truffles we made instead, which is better than taking one of the cats.” 

Almost perfectly on cue, Camille swept into the room, going to her food bowl and letting out an indignant chirp upon finding it empty. 

“What's carn-e-vore mean?” His little girl asked, pulling the container of truffles towards her.

“They're meat eaters, and you and I, we're omnivores, meaning we eat both meat and plants.” He frowned, “though I believe calling a vegetarian a herbivore could be considered rude.” He shrugged as he filled the kibble bowls. “You better not make a mess while we're out of the house – either of you!” he added as Leroux ran into the room, lured, no doubt, by the sound of food entering his bowl. 

“They only create dust, that's what grand-nana says.” Cora intoned, “lots and lots of dust.” 

He ruffled his daughter's hair. “They can't help it, and besides, we all create dust without knowing it.” He checked the time on the microwave clock. “All right, we have to leave for Finn and Poe's house in five minutes, run upstairs and grab your backpack, Bean. We need to get going before all the traffic starts.” he grinned, “besides, I need to get downtown and see if I can spot any dragons before it gets too dark.”

“Take pictures, if you do!” She jumped off the stool and ran for the stairs. “and don't you steal any of the truffles, daddy! I counted them!” 

Ben chuckled and filled the kettle with water, one less task to do when he got home tonight. “I know you did, Bean, I know you did.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben attends Rey's work party - and both end up in a place they hadn't planned when the night started - at Ben's house.

Ben decided to save Rey the journey back to Naberrie Notions and bring her mug with him, along with an assortment box of teabags. A silly gesture, sure – but she seemed like the sort of woman who always had a lot to do and not a lot of time to stop and catch her breath. It would also spare the both of them the match-making comments of his grandparents. Cora hadn't questioned the extra tea in the cart when they went grocery shopping yesterday, and also hadn't noticed the bag in the front seat of the car. 

His daughter, bless her heart, remained oblivious to a great many things in her father's life – and he'd like to keep it as such.

He glanced at his reflection in the rear-view mirror before pulling the keys from the ignition and stepping out into the parking garage. The scent of sea-air mixed with exhaust made him grimace as he picked up the plain brown bag from the passenger seat. He shut the door with his hip as he saw Rey's car – he couldn't forget the bright orange Volkswagen Bug he'd seen her get into four days ago – pull into the spot across from his. 

Locking his car and putting the keys in his pocket, he crossed over to hers, standing near the bumper and resolutely not looking at her legs as she got out of it. 

“You're early.” Rey stated as she stood, throwing a lavender shawl around her shoulders. “You must live close by.” she frowned at the bag. “What's that?”

“Your mug, Duchess.” He held it out and she took it, frowning as she pulled out the tea. “I didn't want to bring you flowers, due to the heat and the fact I didn't know if you had allergies. Besides, if I had gotten flowers, odds are, Cora would have talked me into keeping them in the house. As for living close by, no, I had the good fortune of hitting almost every light green.” 

She dropped the tea into the bag and pulled the wrapped mug out, undoing the paper layers, smiling when she uncovered the glossy ceramic, her thumb brushing over the yellow sun on one side. “So does this mean we're not having onion rings and milkshakes Tuesday?”

“We still can, if you wish.” He felt his ears go pink as she put the bag into her backseat and gathered up her clutch. “Or another time... I meant...” he ran a hand through his hair. “I never know what other people's schedules are. I don't understand how some parents can have their kids in half-a-dozen activities. Cora has dance class two afternoons a week, and I swear they sneak up on me, despite never changing time or day.” 

“Time tends to run together. I don't know how the holidays got here so darn fast, I swear, my calender read March last week.” She chuckled, and gave him a once over. “You clean up nice, for a Yankee.” 

“Cute.” He smirked. “Surely you can come up with a better nickname, Duchess.” The two of them started across the lot to the stairs. “Besides, I hate any team from New York, and technically, I'm from Canada.”

“You used to season reversal yet?” they started down the stairs, “or you going to tell me you actually miss snow?” 

He shrugged the remark off. “I miss it every now and then – I don't miss driving in or shoveling it, but I miss walking in it.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I know, sounds silly...”

“No, I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes, I miss the fogs of London.” Rey let out a breath, “so does your family come to Australia for Christmas or do you go there?”

“They come here. Granddad's in no shape to travel, and he doesn't like gran getting on planes,” he saw her eyebrows lift. “because every time's she's flown somewhere, she gets a horrid cold. Doesn't matter if she douses her hands in soap and sanitizer, she gets sick. Not to mention I don't want to take Cora on a flight that long, not at her age. I had enough of a time bringing her here from Canada as a newborn.” 

She frowned, “I guess it makes sense.” They came to the bottom of the stairs, “I never do anything for the holidays, except find something to distract myself. I don't have a family.” 

Ben had to keep himself from gaping. “None? Not even a pack?”

Rey sighed, “my parents died when I was little, and in England, alpha females are rarely adopted, regardless of Queen Elizabeth being one.” 

He rubbed the back of his neck, resisting the urge to hug her. Poor woman probably needed a few dozen of them. “If I said that's stupid, would you feel offended?”

“No.” She gave him a wan smile as he held open the door and they stepped out onto the sidewalk. “though it's a little too late for me, I wish I could do something for the girls stuck in the same place now, waiting for parents to come along, when there's next to no chance they will. Like senior dogs dumped in a shelter simply because they got old.” 

“I know what you mean, I have two cats I rescued from shelters – one got abandoned for some stupid defect which kept him from being a show cat, which I still haven't discovered, unless it's the uneven length of his white stockings. The other some idiot got rid of because their girlfriend had allergies.” He smirked, “three months later, he tried to get the cat back. No such luck.” He went a little pink, “okay, I know that sounds really pathetic...”

“No, it's not.” Rey hit the button for the cross signal. “I consider pets a safe subject. I keep thinking of getting a dog, then I remember I'm a workaholic and I'm not going to neglect an animal I got for the sole purpose of companionship. Same reason I won't get a cat either. Well, I guess I could get a cat, but trying to find time to actually do the research, prepare...” 

“Anyone ever tell you that you over-think things?” Ben quipped, grinning as the signal changed and they started across the street.

“Constantly.” she sighed, “well, more like I work too hard, and over-thinking is a direct result.” She squared her shoulders, “we don't have to spend more than two hours at this party. Enough time to meet, greet, have some pointless chatter, and sample the buffet.” she gave him a sideways look. “well, maybe more than sample.”

“Food's good.” He paused, “possibly important question, do you have a horrid food allergy and an Epi-pen in your purse in case of an emergency, and what is said food allergy?” 

“None,” she lifted her chin, “and I'm not big on drinking either. One glass of wine is about all I allow myself. Alcohol and coworkers are a bad combination.” 

He snickered, “considering I work with my family, I'll take your word for it. God bless my gran, but I think she's confused as to why I'm still unmated.” 

They came to the front of the venue, and Rey snickered, “I'll go with, 'too busy working to date' or some other variation?”

“Pretty much, along with 'unmated alpha with a kid more often than not means there's an ugly story, which is rarely the case but no one sticks around long enough to find out'.” He paused, “though you do realize my going to this shindig with you will just feed your company's rumor mill until Christmas, possibly until New Year's.” He held the door open for her, and she inclined her head in thanks. 

“Shindig? Now I know you spend your time with old people.” She laughed, “though considering the other guests, it's almost an appropriate term. But you didn't hear about it from me.” 

“I think I may have last heard the term while watching _The Wiggles_ , It's one of two kiddie shows I can stand more than an hour of, the other one is _Blue's Clues_. I don't allow Cora to watch _Max and Ruby_.” He quipped, “not when I know damn well Ruby killed their parents.” He stopped as they passed a blurred out painted ad on the front of a building and took out his camera, focusing on the distorted image.

“What are you doing?” Rey frowned, “I don't think it counts as urban blight.” 

“I found a dragon, maybe.” He grinned as he finished, “I don't question the imagination of a four year old who sees them everywhere. So I take random pictures, which, to the outside observer, might see nothing, but a child...” He felt his ears go pink. “It's a long story.” 

She slowly smiled, “I wouldn't dream of discouraging the practice. Cora likes dragons?” 

“Yeah.” He tucked his phone into his back pocket. “makes gift shopping easy for everyone who doesn't see her often. Her goal is to locate all the dragons trapped here in Brisbane so she can release them into the outback, where they can roam free.” He ducked his head, “so far, we've only caught two.”

“I'll keep a look-out then, goodness knows, dragons could hide anywhere in this city.” She frowned, “isn't there a kid's show with a dragon in it?”

“ _Wallykazam_.” Ben could feel the blush seeping into his ears. “The dragon's called Norville.” He coughed, “uh, what's our destination?” 

“The Lighthouse.” She indicated the building in front of them. “I don't know about you, but I could use something deep fried. Have you ever eaten here?”

He chuckled, “every year on my gran's birthday. And yes, she has tried giving my phone number to our server several times.”

“Maybe you should start fake dating a Newfoundlander, considering how far it is to there from here.” She grinned.

He shrugged, chuckling. “a brilliant idea, except she'd send my dad over to Newfoundland to seek said girl out and report back to her with all the details.” 

*

Somehow, staying two hours at the party became four. Not because of coworkers trapping Rey in one inane conversation after another, but because she and Ben could not stop talking with each other. She did however, stick to drinking soda after her solitary glass of wine and noted he did the same, when he wasn't drinking water. After the first hour, she'd learned he only drank when he knew he wouldn't have to get behind the wheel of a car anytime soon – defining soon as the next six hours. 

“I haven't noticed you until just now, Rey! I had started to think you hadn't come!” Jyn walked up to her, eyes bright, “and you brought a friend.” She gave Ben a once over, “you look familiar for some reason.” 

Rey cleared her throat, “Ben's family owns a shop in the strip mall where the old bowling alley's located. You might have seen him around there.” 

Ben set his glass down, his smile turning uncertain. “I get told I look familiar so often it's almost annoying. I keep thinking I have one of those faces, but then I haven't seen many faces like mine. Makes picking up Cora from preschool annoying sometimes.”

Jyn narrowed her eyes, “no.... that's not it...” she paused, “you're Ben Solo. The former fashion model. I recognize your eyes from an Armani ad I saw on the billboard on the roof of the building my office looks out onto for about five months.” 

Rey's eyes widened and she looked from Ben to her boss – four hours in and this hadn't come up once. She only got from him he'd moved to Brisbane to help his grandparents, and prepare to take over the shop starting in January. She squared her shoulders, keeping her tone even. “You haven't mentioned the modeling, Ben.” 

He looked ready to crawl under the table; an odd look for someone who fit the description of Alpha Male. “It was a long time ago. If six years counts as a long time ago.” He took a gulp of soda, the hand on the glass almost shaking. “I quit the business because of the exploitation of Omegas in the industry. It turns my stomach merely thinking about it. Doesn't matter if they're trying to sell shoes or sweatpants, it's disgusting, and one would think now, in the twenty-first century, mankind would have risen above such things.”

“Unfortunately, there's too many people who disagree.” Jyn gave Rey a slight smile, “and the people who do agree find themselves silenced all to often; or dismissed for some reason.” 

“You made the right choice.” Rey saw Ben duck his head. If the modeling industry had even half the dirty secrets the film industry did, she couldn't see how anyone could stay. She never paid attention to most celebrity scandals – usually nothing but garbage and hearsay – and if she'd heard anything about what happened six years ago, she'd completely forgotten it. “You want to get some air?” 

“Yeah.” He downed the rest of his soda. “You don't have to follow me if you don't want to.” he set the glass down and walked towards the patio, the other party goers ducking out of his way as he went. 

“Shit.” Rey looked at her boss. “We should have left hours ago.” 

“I'm sorry, I came along and brought up something I shouldn't and ruined the good mood.” She shook her head, “you go on and go with him. I'll see you in the office Monday.” She patted Rey's upper arm and walked away, pinching the bridge of her nose, muttering something.

“This is insane.” she picked up her clutch and walked through the crush of people, and she didn't care or notice if anyone gave her a second look as she reached the patio door, pushing it open without pausing. Ben leaned against the overlook railing, the scent of salt and sea almost bowling her over as she reached him, setting a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Moose.” 

He looked over at her, his brown eyes narrowing. “Cute, Duchess. You found a better nickname than Yankee.” He sighed, “sorry – I just...” 

“You don't need to apologize.” She squeezed his shoulder, deciding the best thing to do was change the subject. If he wanted to talk about his past, he could; when he felt like it. “We've not stopped gabbing all night and you haven't told me a thing about your cats, or much about your daughter – I don't suppose I could see some pictures, could I?” 

Ben blinked, and his face slowly relaxed. “How could we have not discussed the cats once in the past four hours?” He turned to lean back against the railing and pulled his phone from his pocket, tension quickly fading from his stance. “Leroux and Camille – Camille's the second one, and she came with her name. I didn't think I should change it on top of everything else she's suffered.” He tapped his phone a few times and held it out. “Have a look. Camille's the fluffy one.” 

Rey looked down at the screen – Camille was a calico, and, given her thin companion with his black and white fur – looked twice the size. Though if she didn't know better, she could believe they were hamming it up for the camera. “How cute.” She rested her chin on his shoulder as he scrolled to another picture, this one of the two cats asleep on a bright colored rug, a small, dark haired girl lying with them - Cora. “She's even cuter.” Another swipe revealed a picture of the girl alone, hugging a green dragon with purple flecks. “What's her friend's name there?”

“Vanco, short for Vancouver; she likes to name all her plush animals after cities, including a rabbit named Halifax and a penguin named Saigon.” He chuckled, “her gran, my mom, did the same thing as a little girl.” 

She swiped to another image, this one of Ben and the girl together, something white smeared on his cheek, “baking or something else?” 

“Making pancakes – we're big fans of having breakfast foods for any meal.” He let out a soft sigh, “It's getting late. I think the party's about at the point where everyone who stays will keep drinking while all the responsible people head home.” 

She closed her eyes, slowly inhaling his scent; he smelled so incredible; how a single omega had not followed him out here before she had the chance to, she couldn't fathom. Alphas rarely mated with other alphas, and she let out the long breath as she felt him tuck his phone back into his pocket and one of his hands came to settle on the small of her back. “You're right. Besides, I told you we only had to stay here two hours.” 

Ben's other arm wrapped around her, and she felt his lips brush against her hairline. “You want to come meet the cats for yourself? I promise, they don't bite or scratch. Though they do demand attention from time to time. I could make us some tea. You could try out your new mug.” 

Rey chuckled lightly, “depends, do you live with your grandparents?” It sounded as silly as she thought it did; but still... it didn't hurt to ask. Much as she hated to do it, she pulled away from him, opening her eyes.

“No.” He managed a smile, “I have my own bungalow in a nice subdivision. I may have moved all the way down here to Brisbane to help them out and take over the shop, but I drew the line at living with them. My gran only insists Cora and I come for dinner every Sunday. And no, she's not at home with the babysitter. She's having a sleepover with a friend. I'm returning the favor of kid watching next weekend.” 

She rubbed her eyes, “for the record, I don't usually do things like this. Though I'll admit, I haven't had many opportunities.” She brushed her thumb against his wrist and they started back towards the door to the venue. 

“Tell you what, Duchess. You follow me in your car back to my place, and at any time you decide you don't want to go on with this, you just take the next turn towards your home. I'll go on my way and we'll carry on – and we still see each other for lunch on Tuesday.” He clasped her hand in his, bringing it up to kiss it. “What do you think?”

She nodded, wondering how the hell she could feel so bashful at this moment. Alphas weren't suppose to act bashful and sheepish; or at least, not in her upbringing. “Sounds perfect – though I hope my GPS isn't acting up tonight. I can't keep track of how many times its told me to drive into a wall or the water.” 

* 

Ben shut the door of his car, watching as Rey removed the paper bag from the backseat of hers, giving him an absent smile as she came around to his side of the covered space. He'd not entirely expected her to follow him all the way here; he'd felt certain she'd bail out at the last main street. “Yes, I know carports are horribly dated, you don't need to say anything.” 

“I wasn't – you have a house clearly inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. A full garage might destroy the charm.” She grinned, “shade's a blessing here any time of the year.” She indicated the covered walkway from garage to house. “Do you spend much time outside?”

“I have a hammock on the covered porch in the back. Perfect place to lie down and read. All you need to do is light a citronella candle and you're set.” He unlocked the door and pushed it open, flipping the switches on as he came inside. “I'd tell you to wipe your feet, but something tells me you'd rather just ditch the heels on the rug instead.” 

“No kidding.” She followed him inside, kicking off her shoes as he shut the door behind her. “Did you restore all these hardwood floors, or did the house come this way?” 

“House came this way.” He took off his suit jacket and laid it across his arm as he flipped on the kitchen lights. “if you need the powder room, it's right here.” He set the jacket down on the counter as he went to the sink and washed his hands, smirking as he heard a soft chirp behind him. “There's Camille.” He turned to look down as the cat patted into the room. “Where's Leroux?” 

Rey came into the kitchen, chuckling. “Oh my god, do you have a cat or a small leopard?” 

Camille responded by rubbing up against her legs. 

“She likes you.” He took the bag from her and set it next to his jacket. “she'd have run away if she didn't.” 

A more direct and distinct meow came from the stairs, and Leroux walked into the kitchen, completely ignoring Rey and went to him, sitting down and meowing again. 

“Final feeding of the day, right.” Ben retrieved the dishes and filled them with kibble. “Sorry, I didn't mean to stay out so late.” Once they had their food, both cats chose to completely ignore the humans in the house in favor of eating. He walked into the great-room, watching Rey study the bookshelves lining the far wall. “You want something too?” He sat down on the couch, taking off his shoes and pushing them aside. 

“I'm good.” She crossed the room and knelt on the couch over him, draping her arms over his shoulders, “at least, in the food and drink department.” She nuzzled his neck. “I think I'm hungry for something else.”

He pressed his lips into her hair, inhaling her scent. He could remember when he first caught it in the air back at the shop, and ever since, it wormed its way into his mind at all hours of the day. He'd spent an hour in a candle store trying to find something which matched, and the closest he'd come to it was a hauntingly simple gray one called Moorland Fog. His hand slid down her back, resting on her hip. “How do you want this, Rey?” He took a breath as he felt his cock start to harden and he pressed her against him, letting her feel through their clothes. “If you still want this.” 

She shivered, shifting on his lap. “Oh I want it, Ben.” She kept her eyes on his as she undid his tie, running her hands down his front. “I think we both need a good fucking.” She tugged on his bottom lip, grinning as her hands came to his belt buckle. “Or more than one fucking.” 

He slid his hand up her thigh and under the skirt of her dress, pausing when he found a wide lace trim at the top her thigh-high stockings. “Are all your underthings frilly?” His hand slipped higher and between her legs, rubbing his fingers against her panties, her scent increasing ten-fold. “You're so wet, Duchess. Maybe we should start here and just work our way to my bed.” He scraped his teeth against her neck as he pressed his thumb against her clit, making her squirm. 

“Going to knot me, Tiger?” she let out a breathy laugh which turned into a whine as he slid his hand under the fabric.

“Absolutely,” he stroked her folds with a single finger, “but you haven't answered how you want this.” he slipped two fingers into her quim, delighting in her shiver. “Something tells me you're not in the mood for slow and tender.” He pulled his fingers from her and onto the waistband of her panties, tugging them off her hips. 

“Ben,” she stood up, reaching under her skirt to finish removing the undergarment. “Slow and tender is for morning sex.” She lifted the hem of her dress, giving him a flash of the lace. “I've never fucked another alpha. Maybe you should show me what I'm missing.” 

“You want a hard fuck, Rey?” He unfastened his belt, keeping his eyes on hers. “Both of us almost completely dressed?” He undid the closure of his pants and drew down zipper, a slight groan slipping from his lips as the release of pressure on his cock. “It's your choice.” He lifted his hips up so he could slide his pants and boxers off his hips, leaning back as they fell around his ankles and he kicked them aside. “Lady Alpha.” 

Her eyes flicked towards his cock and back to his face, taking a step forward, her hand reaching out, brushing the head with her palm, making him hiss. “You like that, don't you?” She smiled, leaning over him, her hand slipping down to cup his balls and stroke his knot. “What a big cock you have,” she knelt back down on the couch, catching his bottom lip with both of hers. “You better check to see if it'll fit in my little cunt.” 

“Oh you have a dirty mouth, Duchess.” He slid his hand up her skirt, brushing his fingers against her entrance, “but you're right, I should check.” He slipped two fingers inside her quim, moving them in and out slowly, relishing in the wonderful, remarkable scent of her. “I believe dainty is a better description.” He pressed his thumb against her clit as he added a third finger. 

Rey pressed her head against his shoulder as he spread his fingers, stretching her, the hand on his cock falling onto his thigh. “You're going to fill me so full, Alpha.” She nipped at his earlobe, “having you fuck me will feel like getting fucked for the first time.” 

He growled, pulling his fingers from her and reached down to take the base of his cock in his hand, guiding it to her entrance. “Will it?” He slipped the head inside her, resisting the urge to bury himself deep on the first thrust, “I know you've never had a proper knotting.” 

*

She let out a breathy laugh as he entered her again, a little deeper than before. When she'd gotten ready for the party this evening, she'd not planned on it ending here. She slid a hand into his hair as he pushed inside her quim, “you like my dirty mouth, Ben?” 

He chuckled, his hand resting on her rear. “Oh, yes, Duchess, I do.” He pushed deeper, and she bit back a whimper at the stretch. “Okay?”

Rey nodded, taking a deep breath, “I'm not delicate.” She tugged at his hair as he sank deeper, moving too carefully for her; not in their current keyed up state. If she'd had enough strength to pull him from the couch and pin him to the floor, she'd do it.“I thought I told you slow and tender is for morning sex.” 

“So you did.” his hands came to rest on her hips, holding her in place as he drove his cock deep into her, “that's only half of me, little alpha. Think how full your pretty cunt will feel when you're knotted.” 

She grasped the back of the couch as he pulled out and plunged back inside, barely giving her time to adjust to his girth as he filled her. She knew one thing for certain; she was ordering a new vibrator before her next heat. One of those massive ones she'd stared at on her favorite website thinking no one other than an omega female could take. “Amazing.” She groaned, throwing her head back as he thrust deeper. “Harder.” 

“Soon.” He nuzzled her neck, his hand sliding up her back to draw down the zipper of her frock. “I don't want your lovely dress getting soiled.” His thrusts slowed as he gathered the skirt in his hands and lifted it up.

She shooed his hands away and took the garment in her own, pulling it up and over her head, tossing it towards the arm of the couch. “How polite.” She took the loose tie from the collar of his shirt as he started thrusting anew. “I think you're overdressed.” 

“Think again.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and stood up, his cock slipping from her as they crossed the room. “Don't lose my tie, Duchess, I have plans for it.” 

“Do you now?” She tightened her hold on him as he carried her into another room and he laid her down on a bed, a high one; leaving her almost level with his waist.“Going to gag me?” She smirked up at him as he flicked on a lamp. 

“And muffle your pretty screams?” He leaned down, kicking her thighs open with his. “Never.” He lifted her legs in his hands as he drove his cock back inside her cunt, “you look like sin, Lady Alpha, naked, save for your lace. ” 

She grasped the comforter as he filled her, each thrust going deeper than the one before it. “You feel like it.” she arched her back, letting out a gasp as her cunt tightened, the natural response of an alpha female; trying to hold her partner's cock inside, the inverse of a male's knot. “So good, Sir Alpha...” the words fell from her mouth, and she caught the glint in his eyes. 

“I believe the good one here, Duchess, is you.” Ben's smile turned wicked as he climbed onto the bed, draping her legs over his hips as he knelt. “Do you know what good little alphas get?” He planted his hands on either side of her head as he renewed his thrusts, her cunt taking the considerable girth and trying to hold onto it at the same time.

“Fucked?” She breathed, writhing under his, wrapping one of her legs around his waist. “Tied up?” She panted.

“So demanding,” he groaned, filling her, “giving you one of those things and asking for the other.” He took her hands in his, holding them as his hips began to slow, and she whined in response. “Neither of which are the right answer.” 

She swallowed and met his eyes as he gently rocked into her, her cunt aching with the need for friction. “To come?” she managed a weak laugh, “don't tease...” She whined, arching up towards him. “Ben...” 

“I'll tell you what good little alphas get, Duchess,” his breath hot on her neck as he pulled out, leaving only the head of his cock inside her. She opened her eyes, confused as he rose up, clasping her hands tightly. “Knotted.” 

Her scream died in her throat as he thrust deep in her, once, twice – spreading her legs wide with his hips as he drove his knot inside on the third, catching on her entrance, sending her over the edge, trembling as she felt his knot swell, locking them together. 

“Pretty alpha.” His voice sounded far away, and the world seemed to spin; the throbbing between her legs seemed endless. “It's all right.” His hands rested on her back – when had they switched positions? She rubbed her cheek against his shirt as he undid the clasp of her bra. “Come back to me, Duchess.”

“Shit.” She mumbled against his shoulder. “So full.” She groaned, barely aware as he removed the garment. “I think I lost your tie.” 

He kissed the top of her head. “No, still here on the bed with us, Rey.” His hands settled at the small of her back, and he let out a soft groan as his cock released again. “You okay?” 

“Fantastic.” She breathed, opening her eyes, treating herself to a lovely view of the blanket draped over the foot-board of the bed. “How...” she shivered as aftershock went through her. “how long does this usually last?”

“Twenty minutes, give or take.” He let out a sigh. “I'm afraid I never kept an exact count.” Ben smoothed down her hair, kissing her cheek. “Try not to move, I don't want you getting hurt.” 

She laughed, “I don't think I could if I wanted to,” she pressed her head into his chest. “I am, however, glad we moved to here from the couch.” She slowly started to undo the buttons of his shirt. “I think I can say you're overdressed now.” 

“I'll take my shirt off soon, Duchess.” He pressed another kiss to the top of her head. “Unseating you would not end well for either of us.” He let out a gasp as his cock twitched again, “not come this much in a while.” 

She snickered, “good thing alpha females can only get pregnant during their heats.”she winced. “Twice a year every year and I hate having to get all my work done before it happens.” 

He didn't answer, the hand on her back slowly moving up and down her spine. It felt so tender and gentle; and she let her body relax, enjoying the simple warmth of being with someone – something she couldn't remember enjoying with other partners. He pressed a kiss against her temple. 

“I'm rambling, sorry.” she breathed out, what little tension left in her body slipping away. “Still think my cunt's dainty?”

He chuckled, rolling his hips, “yes, Sweetheart, I do.” his hand slid down to cup her rear, “I'm almost tempted to say the only thing not dainty about you is your height.” 

Rey's laugh turned into a groan as his cock released again, “Compared to you I am.” she shifted so she could watch his face, still relaxed in bliss. “I'm starting to think we wasted two hours at the party talking when we could have started this earlier.” 

“I don't, Duchess. We might not have ended here if we hadn't stayed and discussed the finer points of adjusting to Australian weather.” He chuckled, his other hand stroking her hair, “Though it's only around eleven thirty right now, and if you'd like to take a short nap before we engage in any more carnality, I won't object.” 

She moved her free hand over the comforter, her fingers catching his tie and drew it closer, wondering if he'd follow through with his plans for it. Letting out another soft sigh, she closed her eyes; his cock twitched inside her again. “Bedtime, unless we fail to wake up after our nap, is one-thirty.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after the holiday party is a little more than Rey expected. Ben doesn't know who outed him about his 'date' but he has a few ideas. Cora Solo doesn't know what the big deal is. Well, she is only four....

Ben woke up first on Saturday morning, the unfamiliar weight and wondrous scent next to him bringing back a flood of memories of the previous night. He kissed Rey's temple before he slipped from the bed, tucking the covers back around her. It seemed unbelievable that of all people, of all possible things to bring out his alpha male – an alpha female unleashed him. Since he'd turned fifteen, he lost track of how many times he'd heard alphas were paired with omegas – only betas had the freedom to mate with who they wanted in terms of types. A wretched way of thinking in this, the modern age.

Still, not climbing back into the bed and waking the woman up with kisses on every bit of her skin and giving her slow and tender morning sex – took more effort than he felt it should. He pulled on a pair of sweats and padded out into the great room, heading for the kitchen before the cats could come and start demanding food. He felt a little surprised they hadn't come into his room to voice their displeasure at having to wait. He filled the kibble and water bowls, but only Leroux appeared as the dish hit the floor. 

“Camille off sulking?” He chuckled and filled the electric kettle, walking over to the couch to pick up his and Rey's discarded clothes while it heated. He carried her dress into the bedroom, laying it over the chest at the foot of his bed, smoothing out the wrinkles in the skirt, and tossed his boxers into the laundry basket. He returned to the kitchen and picked up Rey's clutch along with his spare phone charger, going back to the bedroom and setting both on the table on her side of the bed.

“Nn.... what time is it?” Rey's voice came muffled from her pillow, “and I'm alone...” 

He reached over and smoothed her hair back from her face. “Half past eight,” he smiled as she opened her eyes. “You don't have to get out of bed, I'll bring you some tea. Green or black, with milk, sugar?” 

“Black, little milk and even less sugar.” She grumbled, stretching. “and you better get back in here with me. I want a snuggle. A _naked_ snuggle.” 

He chuckled, kissing her temple, “good morning to you too, Duchess.” He returned to the kitchen, picking up his phone as he waited for their tea to seep. No missed calls apart from a series of texts from Rose, the usual kiln-sitting commentary the two of them kept up. She'd no doubt spent the night listening to musical soundtracks, belting out songs with notes she couldn't even try and hit. “Hope no one caught her with their camera.” He chuckled and set the phone aside and finished fixing the tea. When he got back to the bedroom, Rey sat, leaning back against the headboard, scrolling through her own phone, rather oblivious to her unclothed state. “You want to borrow a shirt?” He set a mug down on her side of the bed.

“No.” She reached over and took the mug, leaning back against the headboard. “Unless my sitting here in your bed nude is somehow a problem.” 

Ben shrugged and went over to the other side. “I minored in art, so no.” He climbed back into bed, deciding to leave his sweats on. “I didn't keep you awake snoring, did I?”

She gave him a leer over the rim of her mug. “No. Given what all we did last night, I'm surprised I woke up this early.” 

He took a drink of his own tea, “I tend to wake up at this time out of habit – and the cats would have come in and demanded food shortly afterward anyway, since Cora's not here to tell me to quit being a lazy bones.” He snickered, “You want some breakfast?”

“Not yet.” she frowned at something on her phone, and set it on the bedside table, followed by her mug. “I'm still waking up.” 

“I understand what you mean.” He put his own mug down and scooted closer to her, pulling her into a hug. “Okay?”

“Yeah.” Rey closed her eyes. “You smell so incredible, I can't pinpoint it exactly, but I'm certain I could get drunk off whatever it is.” She rubbed her cheek against his collarbone. She let out a sigh, “I know, probably sounds pathetic...”

“No.” He kissed the top of her head, his hand settling on the small of her back, deciding not to tell her about his time spent looking for the candle to match her own scent; thinking about it was one thing, saying it out loud definitely fell into the creepy category. “I like your scent too.” He inhaled slowly, “reminds me of freshly fallen snow in the middle of a pine forest.” 

“I'll take your word for it, I've never had the experience.” Her hand slipped up his side and into his hair. “You spend a lot of time in the woods growing up in Canada?” 

“Not as much as I would have liked. My parents keep talking about moving to the cabin, but they never will. My mom hates driving on unpaved roads and always has.” He stilled when he felt her hand on his stomach. “What do you think you're doing, Duchess?”

“Nothing.” Her tone light, “yet.” She shifted, kissing the underside of his chin. “I've never had anyone give me a nickname before. I rather like it.” 

“Never?” He nuzzled her hair, his hand moving down her arm and onto her breast, running his thumb over her nipple. “Did I pick out a nice one?” He lifted her chin with his free hand, meeting her eyes.

“It's lovely.” She smiled, “you never did tell me the plans you had for your tie... Sir Alpha.” She brushed her lips against his before pulling away from him and reached under her pillow, drawing out the black strip of fabric. “I kept hold of it all night.” 

Ben looked from the tie to her face, before leaning over and taking another sip from his mug, keeping his expression as calm as he could. “Drink a little more tea,” he took the tie from her hands, “like the good little alpha I know you are” 

She picked up her mug, keeping her eyes on him as she drank. “We haven't known each other a week. How do you know I'm a good alpha?” 

He set his mug down and slipped his sweatpants off. “Because a bad one would have snuck out in the middle of the night.” He slowly pulled the covers back, folding them as he went, until they lay at the foot of the bed. “not even looking back, ashamed she nearly spent the night in another alpha's bed, begging for knot.”

Rey put the mug aside and laid down, stretching her arms over her head. “Maybe I'm merely pretending.” She lifted her chin, “or do you have a counter for that too?” 

He chuckled, taking her bottom lip in both of his and tugging on it before kissing her properly. “You're a good little alpha, Duchess.” He slid the tie along her stomach and breasts, “putting your hands in the exact right spot.” He kept his eyes on hers as he threaded the fabric around one of the posts in the headboard, then tied her wrists with each end. “Not too tight?” 

“No.” She licked her lips. “You'll undo it if I ask, yes?” 

“Of course.” He leaned up, kissing the spots right under the fabric. “Comfortable?” He kissed both her temples, followed by both cheeks, his hands slipping down to cup her breasts. 

*

“Yes.” She closed her eyes, arching her back as he took her left nipple in his mouth, giving it a languid suck. Last night, they hadn't had much more in mind than fucking as hard and as fast as they could – both of them too keyed up to draw anything out. As his mouth repeated the gesture on her right nipple, she felt relieved she had the benefit of a good night's sleep to enjoy this. “Going to tease me?”

“Depends on your definition of tease.” He pressed a kiss to her navel. “How do you feel this morning? Be honest.” He nudged her right nipple with his nose before settling his lips over it, sucking gently.

She shifted her hips, moving her legs open a little wider. “A little sore, but considering you knotted me three times last night, it's expected.” She felt his lips moving down her breast and onto her belly. “a good sore, you understand.” 

“I do.” He kissed her hip. “Judging from your reactions, you loved every second of it.” he kissed the other. “I wonder what else you love.” She felt his hands on her thighs, pushing them open. “Why don't you tell me?” He kissed the top of her mound

She jolted, looking down at him as he settled between her legs. “What?” Letting out a shaky breath as his tongue went up her slit. “I...”

He pressed the tip of his tongue against her clit, making her squirm. “I already know what a dirty mouth you have, surely you have no problem telling me what you love in bed.” His hand slid onto her stomach, holding her steady as he breathed against her entrance. 

Rey gulped, her leg shaking as he traced her entrance with his tongue. “You're not going to seriously....” 

“Eat you out, Duchess?” He smiled against her thigh. “Of course I am, while you're telling me what I want to know. I'm not a mind reader.” he licked up her entrance. “If your pretty cunt tastes as good as it feels, I may make a habit of it.”

“But...” She felt her cheeks flush, “it's not done...I mean...”

“You're naked in my bed, tied up, a breath way from getting pleasured, and you have silly societal objections?” He smirked, “for that, I should make you come twice with my mouth before I make you come on my knot.” He nipped at her thigh. “Start talking, little alpha.” 

“I don't...” She jolted as his mouth descended on her mound, his tongue delving inside. “Oh you're wicked.” She swallowed, arching her back to give him better access. “I love wicked. I've wanted something like this...” 

He pulled back to suck on her clit, the hand on her stomach moving to cup her breast, thumbing her nipple. 

“I want one place where I'm not an alpha, not having to take charge, or stay dominant.” She moaned as his mouth slipped back down to her entrance, “you kept calling me little. I loved it... having you treat me like I'm some delicate, fragile thing – even though we both know better.” She turned her head, looking down at him as he devoured her. “Even when I rode you last night, you encouraged me, led me, praised me... told me I was a good girl.” She met his gaze, smiling. “I kept wanting you to tie me up, waiting for it...” 

His eyebrows lifted as he returned to tracing her entrance with his tongue, pressing the tip against her clit as he passed it. 

She let her eyes flutter close, sinking into the feel of his mouth on her, moaning. “I didn't know how I wanted it... tied up like this, arms behind my back...” She hissed as his tongue ducked in and out of her cunt, teasingly. “Maybe I wanted all of it...just didn't know what I wanted first.” Her lower body clenched as he took her clit between his teeth. “I want to get tied to the headboard and fucked from behind like an omega.” 

His mouth covered her mound again, sucking hard, her body starting to shake.

“Love being touched... everywhere...hands or mouth...” Rey panted as her climax kept building. “Taking your knot. I'll never want anything but alpha cock again.” She flushed as her body found release, the world spinning around her. She felt a soft kiss on her thigh, something gentle and fleeting.

“Something to explore another night, I believe.” Ben whispered against her ear, “and your cunt tastes delectable. I could find myself becoming addicted with little or no difficulty.” 

She opened her eyes to see him above her, his hands on either side of her head. “You have a wicked mouth, Sir Alpha.” 

He smiled, “thank you, Duchess,” rocking his hips towards her, and she felt his cock brush her thigh. “Comfortable?” 

“Yes,” she spread her legs wider in invitation, “why do you ask?” 

Ben moved his hands to grasp the headboard above them, gently pushing the head of his cock inside her quim, barely letting her feel it before retreating. “You wanted slow and tender sex for the morning, little alpha.” he repeated the movement, going a little deeper. “ And since you've been so well behaved, I'm going to give it to you.” 

Rey breathed in sharply as he filled her, “if we're going to make a habit of this, we might need a sturdier restraint.” She arched her back, letting him sink deeper. “or more than one.” 

“Naughty thing.” He smiled as he thrust into her, “so you'd like it if I cuffed you to my bed? Wrists and ankles?” 

She shivered at the idea, letting out a gasp. “Yes,” she lifted her legs, wrapping them around his waist, loving the feeling of his cock filling her. “Blindfold optional.” She groaned, closing her eyes, simply focusing of the slow drag of his thrusts, letting her experience every inch of him, slipping out almost completely only to return, going deeper. “On my back, my front, or my knees...”

“You keep talking so dirty, little alpha, this will stop being so tender.” He breathed, rocking into her, “and turn into an encore of last night.” 

“I thought you wanted me to tell you what I wanted.” She let out a breathy laugh as the bed beneath them creaked, “though you wanted to tie me up last night, didn't you?”

Ben grinned down at her as his trusts quickened. “You have me there, Duchess. And you look so lovely, bound to the headboard.” He tightened his grip as he filled her. “Seeing you completely bound might send me into a rut.” 

“Wicked alpha.” Rey groaned as his cock hit the exact right spot inside her, making her head spin. “Fuck.” She closed her eyes, focusing on nothing but the feel of the two of them, the bed-springs whining, a counterpoint to their soft groans of pleasure. 

* 

Ben cracked another egg into the bowl as he heard the shower in his suite turn off and the doorbell ring. After their last round of sex, he'd gone out to Rey's car and retrieved her gym bag, so she could at least change into her own clothes, other than her dress from last night, before leaving. He'd insisted she stay long enough to eat something, considering they had burned off every calorie they consumed at the party. Tossing the shell into the sink, he crossed to the front door, opened it, and Cora nearly knocked him over to come inside.

“Daddy! Daddy! Did you find any dragons?” She cried, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“I might have,” he managed to straighten up, giving Finn a sideways grin. “You didn't need to bring her back.” 

“We're on our way to the store, your house is on the way, so there you go.” He glanced towards his shut bedroom door. “We had lots of fun, Cora ate all her vegetables, and no one had any nightmares.” 

“Excellent. What do we say, Bean?” He bounced the girl to his hip. 

“Thank you, Uncle Finn!” she beamed. “Tell Peter I'll see him at school Monday!” 

“I will.” He ruffled the girl's hair, frowning. “Afraid it's a bit of a mess, they slept a little longer than we expected, but since her hair still mostly in the braid, I figured it could wait.” 

“Don't worry about it, considering the only person in your house with a significant amount of hair is Poe, ” he grinned, “and we've dealt with far more fierce tangle monsters.” He put Cora down. “Can you take your bag upstairs, Bean?” 

“Sure!” She took the backpack from Finn. “Thank you again!” she raced from the room, half skipping up the stairs. 

“I don't know where they get the energy, but I think I want some.” Finn chuckled. “Sorry, didn't know you had company.” 

“I wasn't expecting any.” He ducked his head, knowing his friend wouldn't ask for details, or judge him for what happened. “I have a pan on the stove.” 

“Right.” He winked, “later Ben. I'll call you about this Friday.” 

“Sure.” He nodded, watching the man go back to his car before shutting the door. “Well, this is going to make for an odd breakfast.” He sighed, returning to the kitchen and pulled the whisk from the utensil crock. He did a quick count of the eggs, and added another two to the bowl, knowing the smell of the food alone would make Cora want a serving, no matter what she'd eaten at the Damerons.

“Did I hear the doorbell?” Rey, her hair damp around her face, came out of his bedroom. 

“Yeah.” He smiled. “Cora's home.” He checked the pan, “don't worry, she doesn't bite.” 

“I'm not freaked out by kids, Ben.” she sat down on one of the stools, “though...” she trailed off as the little girl bounded down the stairs and came to an abrupt halt.

“Who are you?” She came closer, her nose wrinkling, “your smell is on my daddy's neck.” 

Ben went pink, “Cora, honey, this is my friend Rey Johnson, can you say hello?” 

The girl shifted on her feet, looking far too wary for a girl her age. “How do you do, Ms Johnson?” She tilted her head to the side, moving towards the fridge. 

“I'm quite well, thank you. And you?” Rey picked up her coffee mug and took a sip from it. 

Cora clasped her hands behind her back, looking from one adult to another. “I'm good,” she glanced towards the stairs before back at her. “Wanna see my room?” 

“Bean....” he set the whisk down, “I don't think...” Of all the questions his daughter could have asked, at least this fell into the innocent and easy category, but still...

“I'd love to.” Rey interjected, giving him a half smile, winking. “Your dad tells me you have stuffed animals named after cities. I've never met an animal named for a city, well, if you don't count the cat named Sydney who lives across the hall from me.” 

“Come on!” She grabbed the woman's wrist and Rey barely had time to put her mug down before his daughter tugged her across the room. 

“Manners, Cora-Bean,” Ben called, “and don't stay up there too long, breakfast will be ready in ten minutes.”

*

Rey had agreed to go upstairs in an effort to smooth over the awkward feelings in the house, rather than actual interest. As they reached the top of the stairs, the girl pushed open the first door, a painted wooden plaque shaped like a dragon proclaiming it 'Cora's Room' hung off a wreath hook, and she stepped into a room strewn with more fairy lights than seemed possible. A pet-net hung in one corner, with a low bookshelf underneath. The walls, painted a pale green boasted only one piece of artwork; a print of Degas ballerinas, and the bed had a flower strewn bedspread and a lacy dust ruffle, matching the lace curtains.

“Wow.” She leaned against the threshold as Cora knelt down in front of a toy-box, lifting the lid. Not only was this one of the coolest kid's rooms she'd seen outside of a catalog, it was also the cleanest. “Did your dad hang all these lights for you?” 

“Uh huh.” she replied, tugging something out from the box. “Dad says it helps keep the woodland theme in the room better.” She stood, shutting the box lid and sat down, holding out a slightly battered plush leopard. “This is Mumbai. He's the only one brave enough to do battle with the monster in the box.” 

“There's a monster in there?” She stepped into the room, “you sure your dad can't get it out?”

“No.” She giggled, “the monster only is there when no one is in the house. But you see, Mumbai also likes to go on sleepovers. But he agreed to stay home and battle the monster and I took Saigon to Peter's house instead.” 

“What a brave kitty.” She frowned, “Leroux and Camille can't fight the monster?” 

“They kept the monster upstairs.” She smiled knowingly. “There's too many things to break downstairs.” 

“I see.” She scanned the bookshelf, taking in the frames lining the top. She recognized the elderly couple from the ceramic shop, and a middle aged couple looked out from another. “These your grandparents, Cora?” 

“Uh huh.” The girl came over to join her. “I only get to see them at Christmas because they live so far away.” She hugged the leopard tighter. “Grand-nana always asks grandma if she's ready to move back to Brisbane, but she always says no, or not yet.” she sighed, “I wish she'd say yes.” 

“Oh, maybe this year she will.” Rey's fingers traced a frame of the little girl and her father, and frowned at the last picture, a woman with white blonde hair, standing in front of a large stone dragon, somewhere in Asia – Thailand or China, she couldn't tell. “Who's this?” 

“Mama.” Cora rubbed her nose. “Well, I'm not supposed to call her that. Dad and her want me to call her Aunt Gwen.” She sighed, “and I'm not supposed to talk about it.” 

Rey crouched down to the girl's level, scanning the books. “Have you and your dad read all these?” Changing the subject sounded like a brilliant idea. She knew a red flag topic when she saw one.

“Most of them.” She hugged her animal tighter. “Well, the picture books. Dad says we can start a chapter book on Sunday.” She rocked on her heels. “Do you work with my dad?” 

She shook her head, “no, I'm an architect. Do you know what they do?” 

Cora wrinkled her nose and bit her lip, “um... I'm not sure.” 

“I design buildings or reconfigure them.” she gave the girl a once over. “Let's get your hair sorted before we go back downstairs and I'll explain what I do at the same time, what do you say?” Rey silently asked herself what the hell she was doing. She just offered to brush a child's hair, something she hadn't done in years. When the hell did she have anything remotely resembling a maternal streak? 

“Okay!” The girl pushed the stuffed leopard into Rey's arms and went over to her backpack, fishing her hairbrush out from inside. 

**

Ben glanced in the rear-view mirror at Cora, who kept her focus out the window as they headed into the subdivision where his grandparents lived. Much to his relief, his daughter hadn't asked too many questions about Rey, or brought up the subject of her visit to the house. He wasn't fooled, things didn't fly over his little girl's head for long. Considering she'd never seen any other women in the house in the morning, except one of the Tico sisters, she knew something had changed. Or rather, Rey didn't fall into the same category as Rose and Paige. “What you thinking about back there, Bean?” 

“Christmas,” she intoned, “do you think grandpa can bring a jar of snow for the holiday?” 

He chuckled, “I don't think it would survive the trip, honey, even if they let him take it on the plane. By the time he got here, it'd melt into water.” He eased the car around a corner. “And a jar full of snow isn't much fun.” 

“Still...” she sighed and yawned. “Miss Rey smells nice.” 

“Yeah?” he cleared his throat, “what do you mean, does she have a nice smelling soap?” Better to start the conversation now in the car before his grandparents got wind of it, oh hell, he knew they'd find out about it before dessert.

“At first I thought it was because she smelled like you, but when we went upstairs yesterday, I could smell her and she smells really, really good. Like the way grand-nana's kitchen smells when she bakes bread.” 

“Baked bread? You sure it was her and not one of the wax melts?” He teased.

“Daaad.” she countered, “she doesn't smell like bread, she smells like...” 

“Comfort.” he replied, wanting to change the subject, fast. “speaking of, it's the first Sunday of the month, what's on the menu for dinner?”

“Sketti and meatballs!” Cora clapped her hands, grinning as they pulled into the drive. “with garlic twists!”

“You better believe it.” He parked the car behind the garage. He'd swim across the Indian Ocean for his grandmother's spaghetti and meatballs. “We still have the truffles?” 

“Yup!” She returned as he turned the engine off. “can we make more of them on Friday when Peter stays over?” 

“We'll see. We might make cookies.” He got out of the car and came over to open the heavy car door for her. “All right, Bean, you have the goodies?” 

“Uh huh!” She lifted up the plastic tub as he shut the door. “Do you think grandma and grandpa are here already?” 

He laughed, taking the truffles from her. “No, few more weeks to go until the holidays. You're not done with school yet.” he answered as she broke away, racing up the back-walk towards the porch. “Careful, you don't want to trip.” 

“Oh, hush, let her spend the energy.” Anakin Skywalker said from the top of the ramp. “There's my Cora-Bean.” 

“Hi!” She hugged her great-grandfather, kissing his unmarred cheek. “I had a sleepover at Peter's house on Friday.” 

“Did you?” He chuckled, returning the hug as Ben reached the bottom of the ramp. “We best get you both inside before you get sunburn. I have no idea where you two got such fair skin.”

“I'd say it's from my mother, but that just adds another layer to the mystery.” he returned as they went inside. “Besides, the two of us never go anywhere without putting on sunblock. Even on cloudy days.” 

“Speaking of mysteries, your uncle called this morning.” His grandfather made an odd noise. “Says he won't return for the holidays again – he's in Mongolia.” 

“Where's Mongolia?” Cora piped up as they went into the house.

“Not as far away as Canada, but with all the layovers, it might as well be.” Ben answered. No one in the family, outside his dad, had seen Uncle Luke in years. A beta, like his mother, he roamed the planet for various publications, and, no doubt, had plenty of stories to tell – and yet, never came home to tell them.

Someday. 

The most common answer he gave when asked when he'd return. 

“Oh.” She ducked into the kitchen. “Nana, can I help cook?” 

“Most the cooking's done, but you and your dad can set the table.” Padme beamed at Ben as he came into the kitchen behind his grandfather; he knew _that_ smile all to well. Scary and disarming on his mother's face, on his grandmother's, it looked borderline terrifying, “and tell me about your father's new friend.” 

“Who? I don't have a new friend.” He saw her expectant look. “What?”

“You mean Miss Rey, Nana?” Cora interjected, “I met her yesterday, she's really pretty and braided my hair when I got back from Peter's!” 

“The floor will not swallow you whole, much as you wish it would, young man.” his grandfather answered, wheeling himself around the island and opened the fridge. “and you can't deny it now.” 

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose, his mind instantly going to two likely suspects; Finn or Rose. If it was the former, he'd return Peter to the Damerons on enough sugar to sweeten all the tea in India. Better for it to come out now than right before they went home. “Considering the number of ladies you've tried to set me up with, I almost feel as if I should remain silent.” He squared his shoulders and went to take the plates from the cabinet. “Smells wonderful in here.” 

“Don't change the subject.” Padme answered, ruffling Cora's hair, “or I'll get my information from someone else.” 

“Fine. Her name's Rey, as Cora pointed out, she's an architect and she asked me to go with her to her work's holiday party so she wouldn't have to face it alone.” He wasn't about to tell his grandparents about their private after-party. They certainly didn't need those kind of details. 

“Oh, the young woman who came into the shoppe last week during the thunderstorms?” Grandpa gave him a once over. “I thought we told you to take her out for coffee.” 

“We're having coffee on Tuesday.” He answered, throwing a look at Cora. “While you're at school, Bean.” 

She wrinkled her nose, taking the breadbasket over to the table. “I don't like coffee.” 

“You're too young to drink it anyway.” Gran smiled, “see, Benjamin, dating isn't as hard as you think it is.” She paused, “although, I do remember this woman is also an alpha...” 

“And?” He countered, shrugging, “so what?” 

“Don't go discouraging him, Padme” Anakin wheeled himself over to the table, setting the salad dressings on it. “Given how flighty some of the omegas who come into the shoppe are, at least we know this Rey has a good head on her shoulders.” 

Ben set the plates down. “What do I have to do to have you not tell my parents about this?” 

“Bring her to dinner next Sunday.” His grandparents said at the same time. 

“Yes!” Cora grinned, dropping the forks and spoons with a clatter. “Can we bring Miss Rey? I'm certain she'll like to come!” 

He sighed, “All right, I'll ask her to Sunday dinner. But I can't promise she'll agree.” 

Grandpa snickered, “for fried chicken and mashed potatoes? I highly doubt she'll refuse.” 

“Exactly.” Grandma concluded, pulling a baking sheet full of bread from the oven. 

Shaking his head, he went back over to the stove and hefted up the pasta pot, shifting the lid so it could drain, and held it over the sink, the steam rising up against his face, and he inhaled slowly; maybe this would work out – somehow. If nothing else, it would get his grandparents to leave him alone through the holidays. His parents would give him grief enough when they arrived.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which phone calls change lives, ruin plans, make plans and cause more chaos than seems possible. Rey accepts invitations to a slumber party and dinner, Ben is trying to remain calm, and Cora continues to act adorable.

Rey yawned, stretching her arms over her head. With her usual weekend routine scattered, she'd not had a moment to sit down with her laptop and order the new vibrator she knew she'd need in a month for her heat. Much as she would love to find someone to spend the few days in bed with, or even spend it with Ben, the last thing she needed was to get pregnant. Even in the twenty-first century, medical science had yet to find a birth control which could work through heats for Alphas.

The only thing she envied about betas were their lack of heats and the birth control which worked ninety-eight point seven percent of the time. 

She'd take the raging pheromones and heightened senses over spending life with the world muted. Scents, feelings, sounds and even nuances in flavors were something alphas and omegas were both strongly attuned to, and Rey remained convinced the recent upswing in spicy food and sriracha in everything were in part of the majority of betas compensating for the lack of taste-buds. Food Network was full of betas trying to pass themselves off as 'experts' when every alpha and omega who could tell who were trying to pass; usually presenting themselves as food snobs. 

The moment you opened one of their cookbooks, you could instantly tell if an alpha or an omega had ghostwritten the recipes.

“I'm not much anything more than a mediocre cook.” she chuckled, taking a swig from her tea mug. “I wonder....” she set the cup down and opened up a new tab, and felt a small twinge go up her spine as she put Ben's name into the search bar. He was six years out of modeling, so she didn't expect much as she clicked on the image section of Google.

She was wrong.

A sampling of Ben's modeling portfolio looked like an omega's heat dream. Her stomach turned when she realized he probably was. There were almost no candid images, and she glanced at the top filters – Calvin Kline, Abecrombie, GQ, and half a dozen other designers she didn't recognize. “What are you doing?” She shut her laptop and stood, walking away from her desk. 

Something about this didn't sit right with her; mainly because a lot of the photographers seemed intent on capturing the brooding look on Ben's face, heavy on the bedroom eyes. Maybe it felt wrong because she'd seen them in the flesh, and seeing the same expression, honest and bright, clearly faked for the cameras, made her stomach turn. 

_Like you're not going to fantasize about Ben Solo during your next heat, and didn't you spend your last one torn between Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston?_

“He's not famous anymore.” she sighed, “well, the celebrity stopped but the legacy lives on.” she retrieved her mug and went over to the window, frowning at the rain; hopefully this wouldn't turn into a repeat of twenty-eleven. She'd seen what the storms had done to Brisbane on the television, and refused to complain about the snow the rest of the winter. 

She took another drink of tea as her phone buzzed in her back pocket, and she took it out, snickering as she saw who it was. “Evening, Ben.” 

“Hi.” He sounded tired; maybe he had another kiln night. “Sorry to bother you so late.” 

“It's late?” she glanced at the phone – almost nine. “Guess it depends on your definition of the word.” 

“Yeah.” a thump came from his end. “How are you?” 

“Not bad.” She took a sip of tea, “did I leave something at your house?” she tried to remember if she had noticed anything missing when she got home yesterday, but came up blank. 

“Not that I've found.” He took a breath, “I'm afraid I have some bad news. Someone, I'm guessing Finn, told my grandparents about our date. And my granddad got more information out of Cora.” He cleared his throat, “I'm wondering if you would like to come to dinner at their house next Sunday. This is the price gran has demanded for her not to tell my parents.” 

She chuckled as she set her mug down, “I didn't think you were one to get blackmailed, Ben.” 

“You only exchanged a handful of words with them. You have no idea what my grandparents are capable of if they set their mind to it. The only reason my dad was able to marry my mom was because the two of them eloped and met my grandparents at the Vancouver airport already married, and...” he paused, “my mom was already pregnant with me.” 

“Your family sounds like a riot.” she leaned against the counter, hugging herself with her free arm. “though given what you've told me, I'm guessing if your parents find out about this past Friday, you're in for even more of a tough time.” 

“Something along those lines, yes.” another thump on his end, “sorry, unloading the dishwasher. I'm trying to keep quiet so I don't wake up Cora, she fell asleep on the couch watching _Frozen._ ” 

Rey grinned, “well, I'm guessing she's seen it enough times she won't feel bad about missing the rest of the movie.”

“True.” A quick series of rattles and he coughed, “sorry. Anyway, you don't have to come to dinner. I said I'd ask, but I couldn't promise you'd say yes.” 

She bit her lip, “we still on for Tuesday?” 

“Of course, Duchess. I never turn down a chance for onion rings and milkshakes.” A soft thump, “you can even wait to tell me your answer for dinner until then, if you like.” 

“I'm not going to turn down an offer of free food.” she returned, grinning. She silently thanked Brisbane for its rainy Decembers and her chance at ducking into the ceramic store. “I don't think I've ever gotten asked to Sunday dinner. Not even as a kid.” 

“That's awful, but careful, if my gran learns, she'll insist you come every week.” he chuckled and there was another clatter on his end. “Which is why I remain thankful Cora did not mention wanting to ask you to her sleepover this Friday.” he cursed softly, “Forget what I just said, I shouldn't have said it....” 

“You mentioned a sleepover on Friday.” she snickered, “I'm guessing this involves eating something marginally unhealthy and watching movies?” She chuckled, “since I'm fairly certain Cora's friend Peter doesn't have much hair to style.” 

“Quite right.” he sighed, “all right, I'm now convinced we were abducted by some government agency and the past week is nothing but a simulation to figure out the inner workings of an alpha brain.” 

“Impossible. There's no way they'd have us conduct this conversation over the phone, but naked in bed.” she took a drink of tea. “I'm saying yes to dinner on Sunday, but as for Friday, let me get through a few days at work.” 

“Guests pick a movie. We'll watch two, and you'd get to pick one. Judging from the past few, I'd say it's a safe bet Peter Dameron's choice will either be _Lion King_ or _Monsters Inc_.” 

She wrinkled her nose, “well, I guess it's good you told me ahead of time. It'll take me all week to choose between _Brave_ or _Tangled_.” she paused, “how many times has Cora seen _How to Train Your Dragon?”_

“I lost count after sixty.” He laughed, “she knows every word by heart, but will hand out the shushes if you try to talk to her while it's on.” he cleared his throat. “I tend to do the same thing while watching _The Great Mouse Detective.”_

“I'll say one thing for betas, they can make some amazing films.” she paused, “no disrespect to any betas in your family.” 

“My gran and dad won't feel offended, don't worry.” he chuckled, “and they're both pretty incredible cooks, despite the assumptions about muted taste buds.”

*

The alarm clock went off too early on Monday morning. Having the whole weekend off was rare in Ben's life, and after Rey had gone home Saturday afternoon – he'd found it hard to do much of anything but think about their time together. He took a huge whiff of the pillow she had used while she stayed, and rolled out of bed. To his credit, he had managed to get some adulting things done. A little grocery shopping, house cleaning, made lunches for the week, and scheduled annual check-up appointments for him, Cora, and both of the cats. 

Tomorrow's lunch date would fall under the category of super-awkward. He knew damn well neither of them met in the parking garage on Friday night thinking they would end up in bed. He could think of a dozen things to blame it on – and it wasn't as if he regretted anything they'd done. He wouldn't mind spending a few more nights – days – weeks – engaged in such activities with Rey. 

“You're pathetic.” He muttered as he poured hot water into his mug. The two of them weren't a couple, technically, they weren't even dating. What happened the past two days... “oh for crying out loud...” He dropped the teabag into the mug to let it seep. “We didn't even talk about such things.” 

His phone buzzed, and he glanced at it once before answering. “Good evening, Mom.” 

“Good morning, Benny!” She was far too chipper for him for this time of the day. Although she was twelve hours behind him, “your dad and I have our tickets booked for Christmas. Don't worry, your grandparents already want us to stay with them. They have twice the room and we all know how you love your privacy” 

He snickered, “Gran and grandad probably want you there so they can plot with you to get me set up on a date for New Year's, or something.” He leaned against the counter, folding his arms. “It's not like I'm old or anything.”

“Why would your grandparents do such at thing? Gran already informed me you have a lunch date tomorrow.” There was a thump on her end, “and you never know...”

“It's lunch, Mother.” He made a face, “not a marriage proposal.” He looked down as Camille brushed past his legs. “and no, the cats don't need presents. They're spoiled enough as it is.” 

“Bother the cats, I still haven't figured out what to get you for the holiday. You also haven't sent me Cora's wish list.” She coughed, “pardon me...” there was a rustling noise. “It's snowing here – on top of the six inches we already have.” 

He smirked and glanced out his own window. “Sunny with a clear blue sky here – and it's already warm. Don't forget to pack sunblock when you come.” He removed the teabag from his mug and tossed it into the sink. “You're going to need it.”

“We won't, don't worry.” Another rustle, “what do your grandparents need or want? I can never get them to tell me anything, gift wise. Worse than you are.” A series of thumps, nothing to alarming, but oddly similar in tone. “I'm folding laundry, in case you were wondering what the noise is, me, tossing folded socks into the basket.” 

“I figured.” He added a little sugar to his tea. “and as for gifts, I don't know. They don't tell me anything either. Though I'm certain granddad wouldn't mind a cowboy hat. One of those authentic looking ones – he's taken to wearing scarves because gran threw out all his ratty baseball caps.”

“She did mention not getting him any more baseball caps. Your father has used them for a default gift for decades.” She sighed, “he's getting old, Benny.” 

“Aren't we all?” he quipped as Cora came into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes, her hair sticking out in a dozen different directions. “Good morning, Bean, you want to talk to grandma? ”He picked up his mug. 

“Nana?” she shuffled over to him and he handed her the phone, taking a sip of tea she grasped it. “Nana, when are you and grandpa gonna get here?”

He went over to the pantry to take out the breakfast cereal, knowing it was a little immature to end his conversation with his mom by having his daughter talk to her instead, but...

“That's forever!” Cora let out a groan. “Eighteen days?” 

He returned and put a large green circle around the twenty-third on the calender, giving her a wink. “It'll pass real quick, Bean.” 

“I don't think dad wants any clothes, grandma.” She yawned, “has grandpa found any dragons in Vancouver?” 

*

Rey walked into work with an attitude of absolute confidence. She already knew she'd set the rumor mill at work on fire when she showed up with Ben at the party on Friday, and between her boss recognizing him as a former professional model – she expected a lot of stares. If Jyn knew who Ben was, odds are, more people did too. Despite her resolve not to, she felt she'd at least waiting a good twenty-four hours before Googling Ben's name on Sunday. He may have only spent five and a half years modeling, but he'd been nothing short of prolific. Used in ads for everything – from watches to fragrances and if hunger hadn't driven her out, she never would have left her bed yesterday morning. 

Keeping her chin up, she tightening her hold on her travel mug, certain she was imagining the second glances as she went into her little office, setting her bag and document tubes down without a second thought. No one knew she'd spent the night with Ben, hell, but it certainly felt like every eye in the place kept turning in her direction.

“Good morning, Rey.” Jyn's voice caused her to look up from her desk. “You're early.” 

“I have things to get done.” She managed a smile, “my laundry got the better of me this weekend and it seems like the only thing I did.” she took a drink of tea. “I'm hoping to have the dance studio sorted by Wednesday.” 

“It's all right.” She stepped into the office, closing the door behind her. “I want to apologize again about Friday. I had no idea you and Ben Solo were acquainted.” 

She shrugged, “well, you didn't turn into a gushing fangirl, or something of that nature, so I think it's all good.” 

“Still...” She squared her shoulders, “and expect to see me in here every other day saying I better not find you using your pass-card to work on Christmas Day. It's a holiday, Miss Johnson, I expect you to take it.” 

Rey sighed, opening one of the document tubes and pulling out the contents from within. “I know, you've told me this every year since I started working here.” She managed a smile. “I can't promise I won't be here the day before or the day after.” 

“If you need a place to spend the holiday, you're more than welcome to join Cassian and I.” The woman gave her a smile, “or do you have plans?”

“I do,” she lied, “but thank you for the invitation. I appreciate it. Not to mention your mother is one of the best cooks in the country, if not the whole of the Southern Hemisphere.” She could come up with something in twenty days, couldn't she? So what if her plans turned into ordering take-out and watching movies? 

“Well, in any case, you're welcome if they fall through.” Her boss gave her a warm smile. “I'll let you get to work, I'm certain you're in the same boat all of us are, trying to get everything done before the holiday comes.” She stepped to the door, “don't work too hard.” 

“We all work too hard.” She countered as the woman went back out into the hall, leaving the door ajar. Rey unrolled the plans and locked them in place, taking out her ruler and a pencil, setting them down before raising the drafting plank. “Long lunch or late lunch tomorrow...” she shook her head as the phone rang, and she frowned. The phone on her desk almost never rang. She picked up the receiver. “Rey Johnson.” 

“Miss Johnson, this is Agent Rian Thrawn, of the Australian Immigration Department.” Her heart dropped down to her feet. “I'm afraid there's a problem with your application for citizenship.” 

*

Ben arrived first at the Shake Shack – not surprising, it was a short walk down the strip mall. He was halfway through a strawberry milkshake when Rey arrived, looking as of she hadn't slept since Saturday. He stood, frowning. “What's wrong?”

She sat down, taking his shake and downing half of what was left of it. “I'm going to have to go back to England.” 

He blinked, “for a visit, or something?”

“No.” Rey covered her eyes with her hand as the server came over to the table, setting down a menu. 

“You want another milkshake, sir?” The man answered, looking about as uncomfortable as Ben felt. 

“No. She needs one though. Chocolate.” He cleared his throat. “And a double order of onion rings to split.” 

“Coming right up.” He left the glass of water and retreated. 

“You have to go back to England, because...” he prompted.

“My application for citizenship wasn't approved. It doesn't make sense, because why should it matter where my parents were born when they're dead, and they haven't had custody of me for twenty years.” She hiccuped, “my work visa runs out before the next application opening, and I haven't done the paperwork because I was counting on the application going through and making it a moot point.” 

He pulled his water glass towards him, taking a big gulp from it. “When does your work visa expire?” 

“March.” Her shoulders slumped. “I mean, I can go to the British consulate here in Brisbane for the paperwork, I guess, but my parents' records aren't exactly in the system.” 

“Do you have any other options? Can you apply for asylum? Political, religious?” He set the glass down. “Anything?” 

“I've gone over everything. I'm agnostic, so religion's a no-go, I doubt political would work, and...” She slumped back, “things were going so well. I have this amazing job, a decent flat... and now...” she glowered at him, “what did you do when you moved here?”

He ducked his head. “I have dual citizenship,” he took a sip of water. “Did you tell your boss what's going on?”

“I did.” She gulped, “and Jyn was pretty understanding, and she's more than willing to fill out vouchers for my visa. The only other way for me to stay is get married.” She sat forward, holding her head in her hand as the server returned, setting the chocolate milkshake down in front of Rey.

“Few more minutes on those onion rings.” He smiled before leaving again. 

Ben took a straw from the dispenser on the table and stuck it into the shake, nudging it closer. “I'm not saying yes to such a wretched proposal, Duchess. One, we've only known each other a week. Two, you haven't met my mother.” He paused, “although I'm certain she'd adore you. Ask me this time next month, I may find myself enticed to accept.”

Rey's eyes narrowed. “You're not funny.” 

“I'm not trying to be.” He didn't look at her as she took a long sip from her shake. “You're going to eat your lunch, ignore the calorie count, and go back to work.” He kept his face perfectly passive. “Would you at all be willing to work from home?”

“Are you kidding, I'd love to not have to commute.” She frowned, “what are you thinking?”

“My grandparents could use a little help around the house come January, when they both retire. You move in with them, as a companion to my not as disabled as he looks grandfather, do your work for Erso Architecture, and you both send applications to the government as to why you need to stay here in Australia. My granddad's a national hero, they'll fall over themselves to accommodate what he asks.”

“You're ignoring the fact I'm a total stranger.” She took a sip from her shake, her expression unchanged. “I don't think it will work.” 

“It'll work if you come for Christmas, we can discuss the details on Sunday, when you come for dinner.” He tapped his finger against his glass, thinking. “I can convince my grandparents of all of this before then. After the new year, you can move into their guest house, and get to work on whatever you need to do to stay here in Brisbane. You'll come with a glowing recommendation from Miss Cora Jane Solo.” 

She pulled the menu towards her, her face still looking about ready to cry. “Why are you agreeing to help me? It doesn't make sense. In my experience people aren't this nice without a reason.” She toyed with the spoon in her shake. “What would I have to do if I stayed with your grandparents?” 

“Nothing more complicated than cook lunch, do the dishes, help granddad up and down the stairs.” He stared at the surface of the table; when he knew today's lunch would turn out weird, this wasn't what he expected. “It's a not a matter of his health, it's more of another person around. He'll let you work, don't worry.” He chuckled, “he night actually get started on the book he's always planned on writing.” 

“I should point out I'm not a good cook.” She met his eyes, “seriously. I tend to stick to things I can heat up in the microwave.” 

“As long as you can spread Marmite on toast and use a can opener, you'll do just fine.” He grinned, taking a sip from his shake. “You think it over.” 

The server returned and set down the platter of onion rings. “We ready to order or still looking?” 

“Shack Burger.” Rey answered, “little light on the sauce, please.” 

“Not a problem,” he gathered up the menus, “and you sir?”

“Double Smoke Shack.” Ben sat back against the booth. “we might have dessert, we haven't gotten through the meal yet.” 

“I'll get those right in for you.” He nodded and walked away from their table.

Ben cleared his throat, taking a sip from his milkshake. “By the way, you did forget something at my house Saturday. I didn't bring it with me, I'm afraid.” 

Rey separated the two empty appetizer plates, setting one in front of each of them before putting ketchup on hers. “You can keep them, if I can keep the shirt you loaned me.” 

He coughed, “I'm not certain it's a fair trade.” He'd only discovered her forgotten pair of panties under his bed this morning when he double checked for missing socks.

“I think it is.” She pulled a pile of onion rings onto her plate, smiling. “So, am I still invited to the sleepover on Friday?”

“Absolutely.” He gave her an amused look. “You don't have any objections to pizza, do you?”

*

Going into work Wednesday, Rey felt a little more optimistic than she had all week. She wouldn't need to plead her case to Jyn, if anything, the woman would understand her methods – her mate, Cassian, had done something similar to stay in the country rather than return to his native Mexico years ago. Of course, Cassian was also an omega and did the full time parent thing – their youngest was still in secondary school. But the concept wasn't too different, and she felt sure her boss would rather one of her best employees work from a remote location than have to leave the country entirely. 

She set her things in her office before going down to Jyn's, knocking on the door. “Morning.” 

“Rey!” the woman looked up, smiling. “Good morning! You're in good spirits, I see.”

“Yeah.” she stepped inside, “sorry for my minor freak out earlier this week.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “How two days can feel like nine, I'll never know.” She went over and sat in one of the chairs facing Jyn's desk. “I've got a solution to my current problem, but I'm going to need a little help from you, if possible.” 

She lowered the lid of her laptop, pushing it aside, “what do you need Rey? Nothing illegal, I hope.” 

She managed a chuckle, “no, nothing of the kind. What do I need to do to get permission to work from home? I'd still come in for presentations and what not...” she tried to think of the most delicate way to put what Ben had proposed into words. “a friend's offered a way for me to file...I don't even know what the term one would use. His grandparents, well, mainly his grandfather, can't stay home alone because of a medical condition. He wants me to stay with his grandfather during the day, to help out.” 

“I see.” Jyn tapped her fingers on her desk, frowning before she reopened her laptop. “I think I can work it out somehow – though I couldn't get anything done until after New Year's. Is that okay?”

“Sounds great.” She took a breath, “I still have to visit the house, do some things with the family...” she sighed, “those kinds of things.” 

She paused, “what family is this with? I'd feel a little better about you working from home if I knew what home you'd be at.” 

“The Skywalkers. I don't know exactly...” she saw color drain from Jyn's face. “What is it?”

“You're not from Brisbane,or anywhere in Australia, so you wouldn't know about Anakin Skywalker.” She took a breath, “around fifty years ago, he was someone no one had ever heard of. A pediatrician with a small practice and a mundane life. Then he rescued the Queensland prime minister and his family from a plane crash while driving back from a conference. Saved all of their lives, and it nearly killed him.” 

Rey thought of Anakin Skywalker, with his horrid burn scars and legs that barely worked. “Don't firefighters do those sort of things every day?”

Jyn shifted in her seat, “true, but this was different. Bail Organa did more for the people of Australia in his political career than most people dream about. When you're the man who ended the political persecution of the indigenous people of the country, reformed education, and restored infrastructure on a scale unheard of since France rebuilt after the second World War...” she trailed off.

“In other words, Big Damn Hero.” She brushed a loose hair out of her face. “and Skywalker saving him in what I'm guessing was the middle of it all, suddenly he's the man who saved the beloved politician, because who the hell knows where we'd be without him?”

“Exactly.” Jyn managed a smile. “Skywalker went from nobody to Queensland's darling overnight. My mate's mother was a nurse in the hospital where he was taken. I think every omega from Brisbane to Sydney was heartbroken when they learned he already had a mate and children.” 

*

Ben held the door open as Peter came inside, dropping his bag and shoes with a hurried hello before he ran over to join Cora and dig into the giant crate of Legos by the coffee table. “I'm guessing he's too excited to say good-night.” he gave Finn a worn smile, “or something.” 

The younger man adjusted the cuff of his shirt. “Pretty close. I'm starting to think he likes staying over here more than he likes Cora coming over to our house.” 

“It's the different toys.” He answered, “you and Poe have fun. Don't stay out too late, call me if you both have a little too much to drink.”

“We're saving the liquor for when we get home and it's a moot point.” he leaned into the house. “Good night, Peter.” 

“Night, dad!” the boy said more to the box than him.

Cora jumped up, ran across the room and hugged the man's legs. “good night, Uncle Finn.” 

“I'm glad someone's going to miss me.” He chuckled as the girl let go and returned to the blocks. 

Ben shook his head, “don't worry, I won't let them have a bunch of junk food. Though I can't promise we won't stay up late making Christmas cookies.” 

“I've had your cookies, I won't object at all.” He inclined his head and headed down the walk, waving when he reached the car, Poe doing the same as Ben shut the door. 

“Where do your shoes go, Pete?” He stated as he crossed to the kitchen.

“What?, oh!” the boy raced across to the pile he'd left, and picked up his shoes, setting them on the bench before taking up his backpack and leaving it to the side of the stairs before rejoining Cora. “Sorry, Uncle Ben.” 

“It's okay, you were excited.” he went into the kitchen, scanning the delivery menu. “You still like Pizza Capers, right?”

“It's the best!” Peter answered, “no anchovies.” 

“No one in this house likes anchovies. They belong in salad, not on pizza, and even that is up for debate.” he replied. 

“What's debate mean?” Cora interjected. 

“Discussion of the pros and cons, with each side using information to back up their stances.” He chuckled, “don't worry, we're not having salad tonight, since you two will eat pizza with vegetables on them.”

“Mushrooms!” they said at the same time, and the doorbell rang. 

“I'll get it!” Cora stood and went to the door, pausing before she grasped the knob. “Who's there?” 

“It's Rey Johnson, I was invited to a slumber party by Cora Solo.” Despite the distance, Ben could hear the laughter in her voice as Cora pulled the front door open. “Hello!” 

“Come on in, Rey.” He called from the kitchen and he scanned the menu again as she entered the house and took off her shoes, shutting the door behind her. “Good job on answering the door, Bean.” He frowned when he felt something bump against his leg and he looked down to see Peter. “What's wrong, Pete?”

“Who's that?” The boy's voice was soft, “she's a stranger.” 

“Oh.” he reached down to clasp the boy's hand. “I'll introduce you, she's not dangerous.” He silently cursed, knowing he should have told Peter someone else was coming; omegas didn't handle surprise well; given how Cora acted last week, he shouldn't feel so surprised. 

If Rey was an omega or a beta, this wouldn't have caused such an issue. 

Rey came over to the kitchen and crouched down. “Hi, I'm guessing you're Cora's friend, right?”

“Uh huh.” He still clung to Ben's leg. “I'm Peter Dameron, who are you?”

“I'm Rey Johnson, a friend of Ben's.” she held out her hand for the boy to shake. “It's nice to meet you.” 

“Is Rey short for something?” he countered, slowly taking her fingertips in his hand. 

She blinked, glancing up at Ben before answering. “Freya, but absolutely no one has called me that regularly since I was in primary school.” She ruffled Peter's hair before standing up. “It's nice to meet you, Peter Dameron.” 

“Likewise, Miss Johnson.” he replied and skirted around the island back towards Cora and the Legos. 

He gave her a questioning look. “Is your first name really Freya?” he swallowed, “pardon me, did you want something to drink?” 

“Tea, please – and yes, my full first name is Freya.” she snickered, “I have no idea what my parents thought – unless they thought they were being original. Quite honestly, I don't care.” 

He nodded and turned to the fridge. “Hot tea or cold tea?” 

“It's nearly forty degrees outside, cold, please.” Rey chuckled, “so if Cora comes from Downton Abbey, where does Jane come from?” 

“Jane Austen.” he set the pitcher of iced tea on the counter. “Because the mother sort of in contact couldn't pick a favorite heroine from the books, so she chose the creator instead.” He got a glass from the cupboard. “Why don't you look over the pizza menu, I'm going to order dinner shortly. You like mushrooms, don't you?”

“Absolutely.” She replied, going over to move her bag next to Peter's.

*

“This is the first time I've ever slept in a blanket fort.” Rey stated, staring up at the flowery sheet above her head. “and the first time I've ever constructed one either.” 

“Wow.” Cora answered, half yawning. “no forts in England?” 

“Not really.” She sighed, “well, not where I grew up.” Going into a lengthy talk of her childhood with anyone, least of all a four year old, wasn't on a list of things she wanted to do. Ever. “Did you and Peter make one last week?”

“No. Uncle Poe doesn't like to fold sheets, so we can't.” she yawned again. “Well, that's what he tells me and Peter when we ask.” she rolled over onto her side. “Peter has a swing set with a fort in it.” she lowered her voice to a whisper. “but it's too hot to stay in it for long right now.” 

“I see.” she turned to face the little girl. “Any dragons over at the Damerons?” 

“No.” she wrinkled her nose, hugging the stuffed rabbit in her arms tighter. “Uncle Poe scared them all away with his lawnmower.” 

Rey bit back her snort. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” 

“Bad, because I don't know where they went. Now they'll never get back out of the city and into the wilderness where they can live without fear.” she rubbed her nose. “we're supposed to go to sleep.” 

“Oh.” she answered, and looked over her head towards the part of the fort where Ben and Peter were, both of them snoring. “Don't worry, it counts as resting if we're lying down, ready to sleep.” 

The girl frowned, “I don't know...grand nana would disagree, but grand papa would say you're right.” she paused, “are you coming to dinner with us Sunday?” 

She nodded, “I might drive myself though. Your daddy and I have different schedules on Monday, so I can't stay too late.” 

“Grand Nana's a good cook. We're having fried chicken.” She yawned again, “Tuesday is Grandparents Day at school. Nana's coming, because people are rude and stare at grand papa because of all his scars.” 

“Clearly, some people don't know how to mind their manners.” she answered, covering a yawn of her own. 

“You two need to go to sleep.” Ben's voice called towards them. “It's almost midnight.” 

“How many more days until grandma and grandpa get here?” Cora countered. 

“Twelve more days in twenty minutes.” he answered, yawning. “Go to sleep, gossip girls.” 

Rey snorted into her pillow. “I thought staying up till midnight was part of the sleep over ritual.” 

“Not until all participants have ages in double digits.” he returned, yawning. “Good night Bean, good night, _Freya_.” 

She wrinkled her nose. “Good night, _Benjamin._ ” 

*

“Padme, you do not need to cut up another potato, we're expecting one more person for dinner, not ten.” Anakin didn't expect his mate to listen to him, but he had a point; there were already eight potatoes cubed and soaking in the water, adding another might ensure the pot boiling over once she turned the stove on.

“And there are three alphas eating the meal.” she replied, not looking at him as she tapped her fingers on the counter. “And one growing child.” 

“I don't think Cora can eat a pound of mashed potatoes, even if it was the only thing she ate.” He wheeled himself into the pantry. “And you're going overboard with this meal already. I knew you were up to something when you started turning cherry tomatoes into roses.”

“This is the first time Ben's brought someone over for dinner.” she cleared her throat, “what are you looking for in there? Almost everything we need is out here.” 

Anakin shook his head as he pulled down the bag of croutons and came back into the kitchen. “You're not the one who needs to woo Rey with cooking. That's for Ben to worry about.” He put the bag on the counter as the doorbell rang. “Speaking of.” He moved out of the kitchen towards the front door. “Keep calm, don't act pushy...” he shook his head as he unlocked the door and opened it. “Good afternoon, Rey, right?”

“Yes, thank you for inviting me, Mr. Skywalker.” The young woman's face was flushed; “sorry, the air conditioner in my car decided this morning was a good time to stop working.” 

“It's fine, and please, call me Anakin.” he moved aside so she could come in, catching sight of the bag in her hand. “you didn't need to bring anything.” 

“I felt I had to do something, since I know Ben and Cora bring dessert.” She shut the door. “I went with sparkling cider, so no one gets left out.” she followed him back towards the kitchen. “Smells wonderful.” 

He gave her a once over; maybe Padme felt the girl was too skinny, hence the reason for the copious amount of mashed potatoes. Given the other young women they had unsuccessfully tried to set Ben up with, maybe this was a silent sort of lesson to the two of them from their grandson. The fact she was an alpha barely registered at this point. “Well, I hope you brought your appetite, because we don't like to see anyone go hungry here in the Skywalker house.” 

“I can tell I'm going to like this already.” she grinned as they came into the kitchen. “Hello...” she ducked her head, looking uncertain. No wonder Ben was crazy about her.

“Hello, dear.” Padme beamed, “goodness, don't tell me you ran here.” 

“Says her car's air conditioner died.” Anakin took the bag from her. “You want something to drink, water, soda?” 

“I'm good, thank you.” She skirted closer to the wall, out of his way. “Do you need any help?”

“Gracious, no.” Padme wiped her hands on her apron and came around the island. “you're a guest. Now, it's Rey, correct?” 

“Yes, ma'am.” she answered and Anakin didn't bother to repress his snort. 

“Manners!” his mate snapped at him before turning back to the girl. “It's Padme, Rey.” She gave the young woman a hug. “No need to act so tense, this isn't a job interview.” 

“Sort of is.” He answered as the back door opened and Ben and Cora came inside. “Where's my Bean?” 

“Here I am!” Cora bounded up and threw her arms around his neck. “We brought cake this time, Grand-papa.” 

“Way you give hugs, you'd think I didn't see you on Thursday.” He chuckled, letting her go. 

“Granddad...” Ben set down the cake plate on the island. “don't tell me you're objecting.” 

“I never do.” Anakin smirked as Rey shifted closer to the fridge, grabbing the top of the door as Padme opened it. 

“Da-ad.” Cora hugged her great-grandmother's legs. “It's not nice to tease people.” 

Rey let out a noise somewhere between a sneeze and a gasp, and her cheeks went even pinker, and he saw his grandson's do the same. Much to his relief, however, the child in the room remained oblivious to whatever passed between them. “Yes, Ben, you shouldn't tease.” she regained her composure.

“Particularly guests.” Padme offered. “Now, go find your apron, Cora-Bean, I think I need your help mashing the potatoes.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, it's hard to believe Ben and Rey have only known each other 3 weeks. Then again, this is the third week - and proves to be almost as eventful as the first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags updated

For someone who had never gone to Sunday Dinner, halfway into her first one ever, Rey wanted to go back in time and punch anyone who had ever voiced an objection to the tradition. She set her fork down against the plate, not certain if she wanted to ask for a third helping of meatloaf, or to keep her appetite under wraps in the hopes of taking home leftovers. She caught Mr. Skywalker's – Anakin, she reminded herself – eye from across the table and the man smiled. 

“Save room for dessert, Miss Johnson.” He picked up his glass, “I know, always hard to stop when the food's exceptionally good.” 

“This is nothing grand.” Padme put in, not looking up from her own plate, “meatloaf and mashed potatoes aren't fancy.” 

“But no one makes them better than you, gran.” Ben put in, giving a sideways look at Cora, taking her glass of cider and moving it back from the table's edge. “Good job with the masher, Bean.” 

“Thank you.” the little girl answered, rubbing her nose, “I have to leave room for cake too.” she eyed the remaining food on her plate. “How many more bites?” 

“One of each thing, Bean, meat, potatoes, vegetables – in whatever order you want.” Ben answered, giving Rey a slight smile and turned his attention back to his own food. 

The subject of what the Skywalkers expected of her should she come and stay while she waited for the next opening in citizen application hadn't come up once. Rey didn't want to bring it to the table, and in truth, she felt as if the couple had already made up their minds. 

“The drive isn't too far, is it, Rey?” Anakin's voice brought her back to the moment. “I know, sometimes it feels further than it really is.” 

“I find distance usually increases or decreases depending on the weather.” she took a sip of cider. “I didn't get lost, which is always a plus, although I had decent directions.” 

Padme set her fork down, “I don't think you need to worry about us objecting to you coming here, Rey. When my grandson explained the situation, I felt rather surprised he knew so much, when you two barely know each other.” 

“Grandmother...” Ben's face went pink, “do we...” 

“Oh bosh, I get to embarrass you forever. Your mother would give you far worse than I.” Padme beamed, “and anyway, it's perfectly clear to me Rey is exactly like you. Never wanting to ask for help, even when you need it.” 

Now Rey felt her own cheeks grow hot. “Mrs. Skywalker...”

“Padme.” she interjected, “besides, there's only so many ways for you remain in Australia, and compared to what Ben's mother would suggest, this is nothing. She'd drag the two of you down to the courthouse by your ears. Leia would have Han take Cora to the zoo.” 

Anakin gave her an amused look, “just smile and nod, Rey. It does wonders.” 

“Manners!” the woman barked and Cora burst into giggles. “and you!”

“She's four, Padme, Cora's supposed to act silly.” Rey stated, and Ben pressed a napkin to his mouth to contain his mirth. “speaking of manners.” 

“Okay, I don't need to know another thing about Miss Johnson except when can you move into the guest house?” Anakin chuckled, taking another bite of mashed potatoes. “I need someone with your sense of humor around here.”

“Not until after Christmas,” she answered, grasping her own glass, “and...”

“Oh, you have to come for Christmas. Don't think you can talk your way out of it now.” Padme interjected, “you can meet Ben's parents, because if you don't, my daughter will march into Brisbane and bring you back here in the trunk of the rental car. I know how she is.” 

“My mother would do no such thing.” Ben's face was blank, “would she, Cora-Bean?”

“I don't know, Dad. She might.” The little girl pushed away her mostly empty plate. “Is it time for dessert?”

Ben picked up her plate and his. “Not everyone is finished, Bean. Few more minutes.” 

“Okay.” She sat back in her chair, clearly trying not to sulk. 

“Why don't you tell us about your upcoming dance recital, Cora?” Rey set her fork and knife on her plate, nodding in thanks as Ben picked it up. “Your dad said you're a snowflake?”

“Uh huh.” she beamed, “but we can't have glitter in our hair. The teachers said no, and the parents all agreed.” 

“You don't want glitter, it never goes away.” She replied, “I had glitter in my hair once ten years ago, and I still find remnants about every other week. And that's after moving here from the other side of the world.” 

“You sit!” Ben hissed at his grandmother as he gathered up the rest of the dinner plates. 

“But...” the woman started to speak, and fell back into her chair, rather resigned. “I don't like it.” 

Anakin backed up his wheelchair, taking the nearly empty serving bowl of mashed potatoes with him. “all you girls stay in your seats.” 

“Why'd you have glitter in your hair, Miss Rey? Were you in a dance recital too?” Cora asked, taking a sip of milk.

She shook her head, “no, I happened to pass by an over-enthusiastic wedding party while walking down a street in London. I still don't know what they were doing with the stuff – you think if they were going to glitter-bomb random people, they'd give you a slice of cake to go with it.” 

“Glitter and cake, not a good combination.” Ben answered, coming back into the room and taking the platter of meatloaf. “how many ways should we divide the leftovers?”

“Two, one for you and Cora, one for Rey.” Padme answered, smiling, “thank you, Benny.” she rubbed her temple, “take the ice cream out of the freezer so it's not a total brick when you dig into it.” 

“Yes ma'am.” He replied, going back into the kitchen. 

Rey leaned towards Cora. “Is this typical Sunday dinner, or is it extra special dinner?” 

The little girl shrugged, picking up her glass of cider and taking a drink. 

“You're more than welcome to come next Sunday too, Rey dear.” Padme straightened, smiling, “goodness knows, you look as you could use a decade's worth. Such a lovely thing, pity too many people haven't had the luxury of a family meal once a week.” 

*

Ben turned off the lights in the kitchen, double checking the water levels in the cat dishes before going upstairs. He leaned against the bathroom door as Cora rinsed her toothbrush. “You remember to get the backs?” 

“Yes, Dad.” She yawned, taping the brush against the sink before putting it in the holder. “Is Miss Rey going to come by tomorrow?”

“No, Bean.” He picked her up, holding her against his hip as he turned off the light and carried his daughter to her room. “She's got to work, just like me.” He set her down on the bed, “okay, who's on guard duty tonight?” 

“Moscow!” She answered, grinning. “Who else?” 

“Oh, I forgot, it's Sunday night.” He went over to the pet-net and took down the stuffed cow. “One of these days, we're going to find the cats in this thing.” 

“I think they get up there when we're not here, Dad. I find animals on the floor sometimes.” she yawned again as he came over to the bed, handing her the animal. “Story?”

“Of course.” He went over to the bookshelf, pulling down the battered copy of The Secret Garden he'd read to her a dozen times when she was an infant. “You ready for the last week of school?” 

“I guess.” she yawned as he came back over to the bed, sitting down in the oversized (even for him) chair near the bed. “Is Miss Rey going to come over next weekend too?” 

Ben kept his focus on the book, not wanting to think about next Friday, or Rey. He needed to keep her out of his mind; and out of his daughter's. “I don't know. I suspect she may have plans of her own.” 

“I guess.” She closed her eyes, resting her chin against the stuffed animal. “I like her. She smells nice.” 

“Yeah.” He answered; silently praying the girl would drop the subject. “She does.” 

“Da-ad. Do you have a crush on Miss Rey?” Cora giggled as he looked up, “you do!” 

“Cora Bean, this isn't the time to go into this. You're supposed to settle down, get some sleep.” He sighed, setting the book aside, knowing they'd never get to the story now. “This isn't as simple as you might think.” 

She opened her eyes, her expression solemn. “Is this because she's an alpha like you, Dad?” 

“Maybe.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “You're four, Bean, you're not supposed to sound old. At least, not like you're gran's age.” 

“That's what Grand-papa says.” She countered, “says I get it from you, and you got it from grandma, who got it from him.” 

“Well, then I guess there's blame all around.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don't know if Miss Rey is coming over next weekend, but she is coming for Christmas.”

“Can she come to my dance recital? I need someone who's seen it snow to tell me if I make a good snowflake or not, because grandma and grandpa aren't going to get to see it.” She spoke in a rush, and ducked her head, “sorry.” 

“Don't worry about it, Bean. We can ask her if she'd like to come to the performance, but it doesn't mean she will.” he leaned forward, “she might have to do some adulting things instead.” 

“Adulting things are boring.” she replied, yawning again.

“Yes, yes they are.” He stood, placing a kiss on his daughter's forehead. “But when you grow up, you have to do them. Even if you don't want to.” 

“I know.” She sighed. “Night night, Daddy.” 

“Night-night Cora Bean.” He moved to the door, turning off the main light, “sleep tight.” He shut the door halfway, knowing either of the cats would slip in and out of the room at random, and Camille knew how to operate door-knobs. Better to leave it open some. He groaned as he reached the bottom of the stairs, his back was still angry with him for sleeping on the floor the night before last.

His phone buzzed in his back pocket, and he glanced at his watch before pulling it out. His mother never called him at this time of night, his grandparents had no reason to, and Rose wasn't kiln sitting. Rey wouldn't call him either – he drew the phone out, his face draining of color when he saw the number on the screen. Ben took a deep breath and answered. “Pretty early for you, isn't it, Gwen?” 

“Not really. I wasn't asleep.” Despite not hearing the voice in years, he could never forget it. Hell, in a few years, Cora would start to sound exactly like her, save the accent. “I didn't wake anyone up, did I?”

“I just put Bean down for the night.” He went and slumped on the couch, “what's wrong?”  
Gwen Phasma would not call him unless something had happened; the woman felt it easier if they didn't talk.

“Still straight to the point, Solo. Always did like that about you.” The woman sighed, “I'm sick. The horrible sort of sick.” 

A dozen scenarios raced through his mind in less than a minute. “Shit.” 

“Exactly what I said.” She let out a weak chuckle. “I have a brain tumor, and it's inoperable. Chemo will do nothing.” Her light tone seemed to mock the seriousness of her statement. Typical Gwen. 

“Damn.” He rubbed his eyes, “I'm so sorry, Gwen.” 

“I am too. Before you ask, yes, I went and got a second opinion, along with a third and a fourth.” How could she sound so cheerful over such a subject? Oh wait, this was Gwen, the overgrown Pollyanna. “Best case, I have until October. Worse, April.” 

“Fuck.” He muttered, “don't worry, Cora can't hear me.” He glanced behind him towards the stairs to double check.

“Well, cancer's the sort of thing you need to curse over a few times a week.” She cleared her throat. “I know you already have your holiday plans set, but would you consider coming up here to Vancouver sometime in January or February? With Cora? If you can't, I'll understand.” 

Ben swallowed, closing his eyes. “It's a long way.” his throat burned. The only trouble in getting to Canada was the distance; his parents would love to have him and Cora stay with them for the duration. But taking a four year old on such a lengthy plane ride... “I may have to do some maneuvering with the work schedule.” He let out a weak chuckle, “but I know Bean's out of school until the middle of March, February is easier than January.” 

Leroux jumped into his lap, letting out a loud meow. 

“Hey, don't think I won't find someone to look after you and Camille.” He said to the cat, and he heard Gwen laugh. 

“If there's one thing I know about you, Ben Solo, it's how to make sure everything's taken care of – except yourself.” she let out a sigh, “I didn't think to ask, is there a Mrs. Ben Solo yet?” 

“No.” He rolled his eyes, “despite my grandparents' many attempts to set me up.” 

*

Rey kept her focus on her feet as the water gushed down around her. She couldn't quite fathom the way her life had taken such an odd turn in the past few weeks. Tomorrow, she'd attend Cora Solo's dance recital, and she couldn't explain why she'd accepted the invite in the first place. 

_Maybe because if you take this job for the Skywalkers, part of your tasks might include taking said child to dance class._

Such a random phone call in the middle of her lunch break, and she'd said yes before she could even process the question completely. She'd like to blame it on Monday, but she didn't think it right. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to think about anything other than the way Ben's voice had sounded in her ear when he called, sounding sheepish, like this was some secondary dance and they were both teenagers. 

_I'd like to go out dancing with Ben Solo._

Why had she decided to get her toe-nails painted blue? Instead of some basic pink or even French-pedicure, she'd done something – playful. Cute and silly, wholly un-alpha like. 

_Since when is blue an omega-only color?_

Rey closed her eyes, sliding her hand down her front, over her stomach and between her legs. Ben Solo had gotten under her skin deeper than he'd gotten under her skirt. Which said quite a bit, considering he'd wrecked her. She set her free hand against the shower wall as her finger brushed her clit. The massive alpha had fucked and knotted her, half a dozen times, reducing her to a mewling omega, and damned if she didn't want him to do it again. 

_Proud Rey Johnson, Alpha female, wants to submit._

She whined, slipping her hand down further, frustrated; a month ago, fingering herself in the shower could get her off in a matter of minutes. Now, now she needed something more, something – bigger.

_You need an alpha._

“No.” She growled, hitting her fist against the shower wall. She wouldn't say it out loud, she didn't want to admit it. This went against everything she'd learned about growing up. She didn't want to do this, she didn't want to even think about it. 

_I want Ben Solo to fuck me every night. I want to come apart under his hands, mouth, and cock and fall into sated slumber in his arms._

Hell, who was this other Rey who kept lingering in the surface of her mind and why the hell couldn't she shut up? Was it a matter of her heat coming up? No. No. She never acted or thought like this, not before, in, or after her heat.

_You've never gotten Alpha cock, until now._

Shoving three fingers inside her cunt, she started to work them in an out, trying to create something – anything – which could give her relief. “Please...” 

_Poor needy thing._

“Yes I am.” she whined, wishing she'd brought her vibrator into the shower with her. She'd resolved not to use her new one until her heat started; but the old one... Shaking herself back into some semblance of calm, she turned off the water, fumbling to put a towel around her middle, giving her hair a cursory rub down to get rid of the excess water. 

_You loved it when Ben Solo reduced you to a mewling, desperate wanton. And he gave you what you didn't know you'd needed all along._

“Pathetic.” She walked into her room, going to her bedside table and removed the heavy purple device which, until recently, had done an exceptional job of satisfying her. “Fuck.” She flopped down on the bed, throwing the towel open and thrust the phallus inside her aching cunt, turning it on to the maximum level.

_“Don't you look tempting, little alpha? All clean, waiting to get dirty again.”_

“Ben.” The name came out of her, and she tilted her head to the side, cupping her breasts, wishing she had the alpha here with her right now. She pinched her nipples, “want to get filthy.” 

_As you wish, Duchess._

“Yes.” She breathed, a faint grin coming to her face as she pictured Ben walking into her room right now, finding her naked and sprawled, trying to find the sort of bliss he'd brought her. “need you so bad, Alpha.” 

_“I'll take care of you.”_

“I bet you will.” She panted, opening her eyes, half expecting to see him there as she took the vibrator, working it in and out of her in slow, even strokes. “want you to fuck me so hard.” 

_“Deep and full is what you want, isn't it, Duchess? You want me to fill your pretty pussy up with my cock and knot.”_

“Like an omega in heat.” she pressed her thumb against her clit as she worked her hand faster, putting her feet up on the bed to take the device in deeper. “It hurts not to have you here.” 

_“Bet you're more beautiful when you're in heat.”_

“You want to fuck me through my heat alpha?” She grinned, closing her eyes, sinking into the fantasy of the two of them in this bed, him pounding into her from behind, the two of them clutching the headboard as they were overcome with lust. 

_“Why Duchess, are you asking me to breed you?”_

Rey's orgasm slammed into her and she bit back a scream, shaking as her body released. If this kept up, she might not make it to her heat before she used her new toy. Of course, she might get insanely lucky and get to spend another night with a certain Alpha who had given her the best sex of her life. She took several deep breaths, flicking the vibrator to the lowest setting, sinking into the afterglow; nothing like what Ben had... “I'm infatuated, nothing more.” 

_“You sure about that, little alpha?”_

She fumbled to her right, pulling Ben's borrowed shirt from under her pillow, pressing it against her face. Nothing smelled this good; no one had ever smelled as good as the alpha; and yes, this whole thing wasn't a month old and she was carrying on like some silly omega in a cheesy romance movie... but still... these sort of things could happen? True, alphas didn't typically mate with other alphas, but...

“We're not typical alphas.” She smiled weakly, pulling the vibrator from her and sitting up. “I'm going to need to do that again.” She turned it off, picking up the towel and going into the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed. “To hell with pajamas tonight.” She'd never felt so thankful she brushed her teeth before taking her nightly shower. 

_“You never answered me, Duchess.”_

Hanging up the towel, she combed her fingers through her hair, she swallowed, glancing towards the doorway, smiling at the imagined Ben standing there. “I don't think we know each other well enough.” Rey set a hand on her flat stomach, shaking her head. “We'll discuss this subject.... this time next year.” 

*

Ben hadn't brought up Gwen's phone call with anyone other than his grandparents. They instantly agreed to handle any arrangements he needed, from cat sitting to covering shifts. He didn't want to let Cora know yet, because how the hell did you tell your child they were taking a trip to Canada to meet her mother – because her mother was dying? For almost the entirety of her life, Cora understood Gwen Phasma was her biological mother, but refused to take the title. She felt she didn't quite deserve it, and told Ben she did not care if, when he finally settled down, the lucky woman received the honor.

Still, it didn't stop Gwen from sending gifts to the girl on birthdays and holidays. And sometimes, he heard his daughter talking to the photograph in her room. 

“You're going to burn a hole through the program if you're not careful, Ben,” Granddad's voice caused him to look up. “It's true.” 

“The past few weeks have proved too eventful for my taste.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Though I suppose I shouldn't complain. The rest of the year passed by with little fanfare – so I guess I can handle a little drama.” He managed a weak smile. “Right?” 

“Drama's all well and good now and then. When several things decide to happen at once, however, it becomes a bit of a hassle.” He sighed, tilting his head towards a kid across the isle who was staring at him intently. “Don't play with matches.” 

The boy's eyes widened and he quickly turned away.

“You need to come up with a better remark. Playing with matches isn't exactly something kids think of doing these days. More like copying things they see on YouTube.” He checked his watch as Gran came back to their seats, with Rey in tow. 

“Look who I found lurking around the back of the auditorium.” Gran beamed as Ben stood up and moved over two chairs. 

“Really, it's not a big deal...” Rey looked uncertain, adjusting her hold on the bouquet of bright pink gerbera daisies she was holding.

“Oh hush, child.” Gran grinned. “You sit down, all day in those heels, you must need a good sit.” 

Ben waited for Rey to sit first, feeling his cheeks getting pinker by the second. “Sorry about this.” 

“It's okay.” She managed, looking down at the program. “Khaleesi is not a name, it's a title.” 

“Given some of the names I've seen, I think some are better than finding a unique way of spelling Katelyn.” He scanned the other kid's names in Cora's group. “First rule of naming your child – think of what the other kids in school are going to do it.”

“As someone named Freya, I completely agree. Although the worst they could come up with was 'Fro-Jo', which isn't exactly horrible.” She grinned. “I suspect you didn't have too much trouble with Ben.” 

“Benji.” he grimaced, “but it didn't last past first grade.” He checked his phone, switching it to silent. “Thanks for coming to the program, I know you probably have other things...”

“Hush.” Rey put a hand on his arm, squeezing it. “I wanted to come, and anyway, it's either this or bad television and folding laundry. This is far more entertaining.” She grinned. 

“Folding laundry's not so bad, is it?” Ben shrugged, “though this whole thing is a bit of a farce, although not the fault of anyone involved. Tchaikovsky likely never imagined a ballet school in Australia performing parts of _The Nutcracker_.”

“I think our weather is twice as hard to as imagine, but here we are.” She chuckled as she turned off her own phone. “I miss snow every so often. Pretty to watch, but an absolute nightmare to commute in.” 

Ben saw Gran shake her head and he managed to smile. “How goes the school planning?” 

“Slow, but I think I have the basics down.” she tucked a stray curl behind her ear, shifting the flowers in her lap. “This isn't too much, is it?” She indicated the flowers. 

“You didn't need to go to the trouble.” He focused on his hands; he's gotten Cora a half dozen yellow roses earlier, and he hoped the cats hadn't upset the vase in the kitchen in their absence.

“I wanted to do something, besides, she told me this was her first performance ever, and that's special, so...” she shook her head and squeezed his arm again. “Hey, you feeling okay?” 

He gave her a worn smile. “one of those weeks.” 

The lights in the room flashed twice and the woman Ben recognized from the dance studio came up onto the stage, carrying a microphone. “Good evening, everyone.” she waited as the noise in the auditorium fell away and she smiled, “I'd like to welcome you all to this evening's performance, selections from _The Nutcracker._ Our students have worked very hard these past few months, and we would all greatly appreciate it if you would turn off or silence your phones for the duration of our program.” 

Ben saw his gran check her phone, and let out a breath. “Notice how she doesn't say please stay in your seats so the people sitting behind you can see.” 

“Considering we're in the third row, I don't think it's a problem for us.” Gran remarked, shaking her head. 

“This is where they put the handicapped seating.” Granddad stated, “but yes, Ben stay in your seat, you know how tall you are.” 

“Thanks for the genes, Grandpa.” Ben quipped and Rey started to laugh. 

*

Rey covered a yawn as she came into the office the next morning. After the dance recital, the Skywalkers had talked her into – well, maybe not exactly talked her into it – coming with them for ice cream and really, the treat had nothing to do with her exhaustion. She'd come home and finished her laundry, almost surprised to see the clock read one am when she put the last of it away. 

“But I had a lot of fun.” She muttered, taking a swig from her travel mug, setting her bags down. 

“Morning, Rey!” Jyn called, stopping short as she came into Rey's office, “what's wrong?” 

“Nothing.” She answered, covering another yawn. “I didn't get as much sleep last night as I wanted. Nothing I can't make up over the weekend.” She took another drink of coffee. “What's up?”

“Just checking up with my employees, one at a time.” the older woman came into the room, leaning against the desk. “I didn't get a chance to ask about you meeting the Skywalkers last weekend.” 

“It was fun.” she said without thinking. “I'm still going there for Christmas, but that's more to give their daughter peace of mind where their care is concerned.” 

“Hm.” She shook her head, “I didn't know Leia or Luke Skywalker all that well, I was a few years ahead of them in school.” She managed a smile, “still...” 

“Don't worry, Jyn, I've got a good handle on things.” She took another drink of coffee. “I might need to take a second look at spec photos of the building site, but other than that...” she trailed off, “sorry, I'm running on caffeine and sugar at the moment.”

“Don't stress yourself out, Rey.” she cleared her throat, “or are you still trying to go a two hundred kilometers an hour?” She rested against the threshold. “Or have you decided to try and stick to the speed limit?” 

“I'm still having trouble, I might manage to get it down to around a hundred and fifty.” She shrugged, “besides, the potholes in Brisbane are lethal.” 

“Excuse me.” a voice caused both women to turn to the hallway, a man in a green uniform stood there, holding a vase full of beautiful flowers, Rey could smell the roses from across the room. “Sorry to interrupt, but I have a delivery for a Miss Johnson.” 

“Uh...” Rey's mind went blank.

“She's Miss Johnson.” Jyn beamed and held her hand out, “she's a little stunned at the moment.” 

The delivery man shrugged as he came and set the vase on the middle of Rey's desk. “Believe it or not, shocked is the default expression I get.”

“Thank you.” Rey managed to get out, catching sight of the man's name patch – Kyp – as he held out a electronic signature tablet. She scrawled her name, still not comprehending the idea of someone sending her flowers. 

“You ladies have a nice day.” Kyp tucked the device back into his pocket and walked out of the office. 

“I'm going to leave you here with your unexpected surprise.” Jyn beamed, “and if you want to spend the rest of the day with your head in the clouds, do so.” She left the office, chuckling.

“Wow.” She whispered, running her fingers along the greenery, trying to take everything in at once and failing. The purple snapdragons seemed twice as bright and deep next to the six white roses, two gerbera daisies, both red, did the same – and in the middle, crowning the entire vase, a bright yellow sunflower. “This is...” her hand trembled as she took off the envelope tucked into a plastic holder. 

She knew who sent it – who else could have sent it? She took a breath and opened the note, pulling out the little card from within. 

_A little something to brighten your day, as you have brightened mine. - Ben_

Rey sank into her chair, not knowing if she should laugh or cry. She set the card down, knowing she was grinning like an idiot. And she didn't care. Didn't care how silly she looked right now, this whole stupid situation between her and Ben might come across as a rejected rom-com plot because she wasn't an omega, but right now... she could take the cheesiness of it.

She loved cheese – and could use some more of it in her life.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sultry, steamy Saturday in Brisbane for Rey and Ben, a series of strange phone calls to Padme and Leia from Luke - Cora continues to act adorable and Han is the only member of the Solo-Skywalker clan who knows how to remain chill no matter what.

Ben covered a yawn as he tossed the last load of laundry into the dryer. He eyed the basket of unfolded clothes, shaking his head resolutely as he picked it up and headed out into the house. Coming home after a kiln night, no matter what day of the week, always left him drained. He'd gotten back at five, relieved the baby-sitter, and started the wash along with breakfast, planning to crash as soon as he got back from taking Cora to school. 

“Adulting is boring.” He smiled faintly, checking the time. “Nine o'clock.” He sighed as he dumped the laundry onto the table, relieved he'd left the heaviest folding load until last. “Probably mix up the socks.” He chuckled as his phone buzzed, and he pulled it towards him, answering it and putting it on speaker. “Morning, Rey.” 

“Morning.” She sounded about as tired as he felt. “I didn't wake you up, did I?” 

He shook out one of Cora's school dresses. “Nope, I'm about to fall asleep standing up, but the cats have refused to do laundry, so I'd rather have it done before nap time. How's you're Friday going so far?” 

“Trying to figure out a decent playground.” She let out a slight laugh, “I wanted to thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful.” 

“You're welcome, Duchess.” He put the dress on a hanger and laid it over the back of a chair. “Did you stay up all night working?” 

“No. I had to come to work early for a meeting, where, thankfully, no one asked questions which could have gotten answered via email.” She made a small pained noise, “I think someone moved my desk, I remember the leg being further away.” 

“You okay?” He hung up another dress, “sounded a little painful.” 

“I remembered to wear closed toe shoes today, so I'll survive.” She let out a breath, “I sat down, which also helps. How went the kiln sitting?”

“Same as always. Really wish I could do my laundry at the same time. I'd have everything done already.” He hung up one of his shirts, setting it over a different chair. “apart from the bruised toes and the early meeting, how about the rest of your Friday?”

“Not bad, despite the potholes.” She snickered, “maybe my laundry will do itself while I'm at work today.” 

He smiled, folding a pair of Cora's shorts. “I wouldn't plan on it.” He took a breath, “I'm glad you called, I was going to do it later today. I wanted to ask - would you like to get lunch tomorrow?” 

“Lunch sounds excellent.” She cleared her throat, “um... three of us?” 

“Two.” Ben countered, knowing what she meant. “Cora has a birthday party, and after, she's going over to Gran and Grandpa's to help start on the baking for Christmas.” He felt his cheeks go pink. “I'll bring her home after dinner on Sunday, which, by the way, Gran wants me to tell you the invite to join is always open.” 

She laughed, “Padme might have mentioned as much last week.” she cleared her throat. “lunch sounds good – did you have an idea of where, or should we stick with the Snack Shack?” 

“You good with HQ Cafe?” He folded a pair of his cargo shorts over a hanger. “Portions big enough we might not need dinner later, provided you go at exactly the right time – say, one thirty?” 

“One thirty sounds perfect.” Rey cleared her throat, “is this a date?” 

“I think it counts as a date, yes.” He grinned, shaking out another of Cora's dresses. “First date?” 

“Something along those lines, I think....” A rustle of noise came from her end of the line, “sorry, Ben, I've got to go, work and what not.” 

“Don't design yourself into a corner.” He grinned, “see you tomorrow around one thirty.” 

“Looking forward to it.” She hung up, and Ben stared at his phone for a few moments before turning it off. He'd had plenty of first dates since coming to Australia. Second dates rarely happened. He put it down as his grandparents trying to set him up with omegas, most of them too young to know things like a parent's first priority was to their child. 

Single Alpha Father sounded like the ultimate fantasy for someone until they found out the 'father' part tended to override everything else. He always remained cautious, because the absolutely last thing he needed was Cora getting attached to someone only for the relationship to not work out. 

He looked at the rest of the unfolded laundry, and shook his head, taking up his phone and went into his room. Toeing off his shoes, he fell across the bed, pulling a pillow towards him and burying his face in it. 

He was asleep before he fully registered the one he'd grabbed still smelled like Rey. 

*

Rey changed the sheets on her bed in the morning. She knew the idea of Ben and her ending up here after their date bold of her, but really, did either of them expect to end up in Ben's bed after the work party? She smoothed out the coverlet, lamenting the one other loss of cold weather joy; snuggling with someone under a pile of blankets. Although the Australian heat gave a perfect excuse to sleep naked. 

She didn't know which one she'd rather have. 

Sleeping naked under a pile of blankets also sounded fun.

“You're acting silly.” she resolutely walked back into the main room of her flat, gathering up her purse, keys and phone. “We're going to lunch, nothing more.” She flushed; they had planned on 'just going to a party' the first time they went out. Instead, they ended the night in Ben's bed. So really, her notion of the two of them ending their afternoon in her bed seemed perfectly reasonable. “I hope he's right about the portions at this place keeping you full and dinner's not needed.” 

The air outside felt thick and heavy. The short walk from the complex to her car made her thankful she'd kept her hair up; fanning her face with her hand, she half expected her shoes to stick to the concrete. “Trouble isn't the rains, it's the rain making things hotter.” 

Getting into her car wasn't much of an improvement. She kept a long towel on the driver's seat to offer some protecting from the sheer heat of the upholstery, but the warmth still seeped upward, and she rolled down the windows as soon as she had the car on, remembering the mechanic's word to not overtax the air conditioner. “Still, cooler than I hear it gets in Sydney.” 

Rey leaned her head back, taking a few deep breaths. “Why are you so damn nervous about this, Johnson? You know this guy.” 

First date, first date rules. 

Keep things simple. Don't pry too much into matters he clearly doesn't want to discuss. 

“Oh for crying out loud.” She pulled out of the parking space, shaking her head as she headed for the main road. Maybe they would end up back here, maybe they wouldn't. Maybe they'd end up back at Ben's house – and really, if they decided to try out this whole relationship thing, they needed to establish a foundation. 

They had the sex thing down pretty good, she felt – sex between them wasn't a problem at all. 

Rey wasn't an idiot; she had a fairly good idea why Ben seemed so reserved most of the time. He had a daughter to think about, and quite honestly, she didn't mind he kept people at arm's length because of it. She knew enough flighty omegas who wouldn't stand for it half the time, but the ones who had the maternal instincts in spades would go crazy. She also knew doing the single parent thing didn't exactly leave a lot of time to look after himself. 

And yes, she knew she should have called to let him know she planned on attending the dance recital, but work overwhelmed her and...

“Who the hell am I explaining all of this to?” She laughed as she came to the first stoplight. “Adulting.” She shook her head, glancing over at the car next to her, a minivan full of kids. “I am never driving one of those. I will get an SUV first.”

*

Ben hadn't gone to HQ Cafe in months; Cora's birthday – he didn't know if there was another restaurant on the planet which served lasagna and fries on their kid's menu. He'd always felt partial to the Hawaiian pizza, and this was the only place he'd found which did a decent job of it. He glanced over the top of the menu at Rey, who had the cutest, most confused look on her face. “Something wrong?” 

“Everything sounds good, which, when you're hungry – creates a problem.” she gave him a half smile, “so I'm having issues picking something out.” She took a sip of iced tea. “though the Thai Coconut Vegetable Curry seems to keep catching my eye.” 

“Well, you do need to eat vegetables every day.” He grinned, catching her expression. “and you can't always have salad.” 

“I'm not in the mood to eat salad.” she shook her head, and set the menu down. “Yeah. I'm good.” she paused, “you're not going to get the lamb brains, are you?”

“No.” He closed his menu. “Sticking to the Hawaiian pizza, with a side salad.” He shook his head, “try as I might, I can't get Bean to try pineapple on pizza. I mean, I'm thrilled she likes mushrooms, onions, and black olives, but for some reason, she draws the line at pineapple.” 

“Does she eat pineapple on other things?” She took a drink of tea as the server returned to their table.

“Cottage cheese, fruit salad, and plain. She'll eat it if it's baked into something like cake or danish.” He shook his head, taking a sip of water. Once they had ordered, Ben felt the mood at the table shift, not certain what subject to go into first. They knew plenty about each other from their conversation at the party and the other times they'd talked, but this – this felt new and strange. 

“When's your next kiln sitting night?” Rey broke into his thoughts.

“Wednesday, and I'm already dreading it.” He sat back, “I've managed to get most of my holiday shopping done. The last firing before Christmas is the night of the twenty-second, and Rose's turn to sit.” He grasped the straw in his drink, stirring the ice in the glass. “Mostly, I still need to do the wrapping. Cora's asked Santa to just leave a few presents at her great-grandparent's house.” 

She smiled at him, “the rest at home?” 

“Yeah. Well, it's not too difficult, seeing how my mom will want to spend as much time with Cora as possible, so they're picking her up on the drive from the airport, I'm staying behind because... work.” He winked across the table as he picked up his glass, “and taking the cats to the kennel, pick up this, pack up that...” 

“Fun.” She set her glass down, “you feeling all right? You look... well, like you haven't gotten a decent night's sleep in weeks.” 

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Okay, I'm going to explain this sort of quick, because of the people involved.” He cleared his throat, resting his hands on the table, “the whole situation, before Cora... well, okay, remember how I explained it?” 

“Your college omega girlfriend dumped you for an alpha woman, they asked you to help them have a kid.” Rey went pink. “sorry.” 

“Don't be. Well, it was all sort of weird. I'm of course, the dad, the other alpha, Gwen, she was supposed to supply the egg, and Zoe, the omega, she was supposed to carry the baby, but she developed this wicked lung infection, so the two of them switched roles.” He felt his ears going pink. “Cora doesn't know much about it, but I've heard her refer to Gwen as mama, though the woman has asked her to call her Aunt Gwen.” 

“She told me, sort of.” She wrinkled her nose, “well, what a four year old can.” 

“Right.” he took another drink of water; the cold liquid tasted better than he felt it should. “Anyway, Gwen and Zoe broke up, I gained custody of Cora, and the arrangement, to outsiders, probably looks strange. I mean, I send Gwen photos, she sends photos, gifts, cards.” He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking again. “The agreement was, no meeting until Cora turns twelve. Unless something happens.” 

“Oh no.” Rey's expression dropped, covering her mouth with her hand. “Something's happened?” 

He nodded, “Gwen has cancer. I have not told Cora yet.” he swallowed hard, “The two of us are going to go up to Canada in February to see her.”

“Word I can't say in public or in front of small children.” She muttered, shaking her head, “This isn't exactly something you can tell a kid easily, I mean...”

“I know. I'm planning on telling her tomorrow night after we get back from Sunday dinner.” Ben wrapped his hand around the glass. “There's the answer to my sullen mood this week. The only other people who know what's going on are my parents and grandparents.” Strangely, he already felt better than he had this morning; guess the whole talking about problems helped.

“You've had a lot on your mind, I've had a lot on my plate, we have done a remarkable job of keeping ourselves together.” Rey cleared her throat, “you could always start by telling Cora you're taking her to go see real snow.” she picked up her glass, “she's going to need a coat.” 

“My mom's bringing her one, along with all the other wintery things like mittens, a scarf, and a hat. She already has boots.” he sat back, slowly smiling, “I have my own coat shoved into the back of my closet. Still fits, despite not needing it for almost five years.” 

“Your mom knows to make sure the coat's pink or purple, right?” she grinned before taking a sip of tea.

“Of course she does. Though I would not put it past my dad to bring her a scarf and hat which proclaim her loyalty to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not a good idea when you're going to Vancouver.” He took a drink of water. “Although, I think it's safer than having something sporting a team from the United States.” 

“I never got into the whole sports thing.” She set her glass down as the server came back, carrying a large tray. “I know which team plays what sport and leave it at that.” 

*

Cora tossed her overnight bag onto the bed in the guest room and unzipped it, pulling out her stuffed leopard, Mumbai. “I'm sorry I had to leave you stuffed in there all morning, but I didn't want you getting stolen.” She gave the animal a hug and placed it on the pillows. “I'm going back downstairs, so you can patrol in peace.” 

Smiling, she bounded out of the room and back down to the kitchen, where Nana had set up an assembly line of containers. Granddad sat at the table, sifting flour into a bowl. “How much sugar did you have at the party, Bean?” 

“One slice of cake, one scoop of ice cream.” she answered, giving him a hug. “No chocolate or peanut butter anywhere, because some girls have allergies.” 

“Allergies are no fun.” Nana answered, “come over here, wash your hands and we'll get started. Biggest batch first – which means oatmeal raisin.” 

“Okay.” she grabbed the step-stool and set it down so she could do as asked. “how many types of cookies are we making?” 

“Four,” granddad answered, “the ones which will keep until the best until Christmas.” 

Nana snickered. “More like the ones which can stand a little pilfering before the celebration.” she frowned, “sugar cookies for the shoppe, too – do you remember where I left the cookie cutters, Ani?” 

Cora bit her lip to keep from giggling; Nana was the only person who called granddad _Ani_ \- or rather, the only person who could get away with it. 

“Big canister in the bottom part of the china hutch.” he scooped more flour into the sifter. “Unless someone moved it.” 

“I don't think so – Cora honey, could you go grab the tin?” 

“Okay.” She moved into the dining room and opened the doors of the china cabinet, looking the contents over, moving a small box aside and frowned at the gray item the tin was perched on. Dad usually talked about how his grandparents never got rid of anything – and shrugging, she took the tin out of the cabinet and shut the doors, knowing better than to snoop. “Is this the right one?” she asked as she returned to the kitchen.

“Exactly right.” Nana replied, taking the tin and opening it. “Why do I always forget how many of these cutters we have until we get them back out?” 

“I'll go with 'the kids didn't know what else to give you for countless holidays' Padme.” Granddad chuckled, “we never could remember either, which is why you have two of almost everything.” 

“We need to start sorting things.” Nana started to take the cutters out, “or we'll leave the kids with a giant mess when we're gone.” 

Cora looked from one grandparent to the other. “Where are you going?” 

“No place yet, Bean.” Granddad cleared his throat. “and not anytime soon.” 

She pursed her lips and got back up onto the step-stool. She felt certain granddad was lying. At least neither of them had used the phrase 'you're too young to know' or 'we'll tell you when you're older' – she hated both. Taking a breath, she reached over and pulled the tin closer. “I can do that, Nana. Do you have any dragon shaped cutters?” 

“You know, I think that's the one thing we don't have.” she laughed, “though dragons don't really go with Christmas.” 

*

Rey put her fork down, almost embarrassed she'd eaten everything on her plate. She wiped at the corners of her mouth as Ben finished his last slice of pizza. Maybe he'd not had much breakfast either. She managed a smile, “well, you were right about the food being good – and the portions big enough I won't need dinner.” 

He swallowed, grinning. “Well, it's only two thirty, you might need a snack a little later.” He wiped his fingers and mouth with his own napkin. “Tea and biscuits, for example.” 

She picked up her glass, “would you like to come over for the snack?” her face went pink when she realized what she had said, and caught his eyes, and she absolutely couldn't stand the nonchalant expression on his face. She downed the rest of her iced tea. 

“Bit early for the snack, wouldn't you say, Duchess?” He countered, “or do you want to play Twister for a few hours?” 

Rey swore her blush had gone from her cheeks all the way to her ears. “We are in _public_.” 

He snickered. “You can't see the couple in the corner booth playing tonsil hockey. I'm perfectly behaved.” He set the napkin down. “Still, if you'd rather play Scrabble or Risk, I wouldn't mind.” 

The server returned, all smiles. “Did we save room for dessert this afternoon?” 

“Afraid not, but thank you.” Ben answered, “Rey?” 

She shook her head. “Sorry, but everything tasted amazing.” 

He picked up the dirty dishes. “Not a problem, I'll be right back with your check.. together or separate?” 

“Together.” Ben spoke up before she could say a thing. 

“Got it.” He nodded and walked away. 

“I can pay for my own lunch, Ben.” She took a breath, “seriously.” 

“I asked you out, only right.” He shrugged, “don't worry about it.” 

She wished she still had the bowl in front of her, so she could focus on something besides the tabletop. “It feels a little weird to me, that's all.” She didn't look up when the server returned and only took a drink of tea as Ben paid for their lunch. “Thank you.” 

“You're welcome, Duchess.” The nickname caused her to look up. “we'll go soon, don't worry.” 

“You're insufferable.” she seethed, feeling the blush return. Okay, so it wasn't like she'd exactly asked him to come over... well, okay, yeah, she had asked him to come back to her flat, but at the same time... “although, given the noise I've heard from my neighbors...”

He snickered, “save your asks for when we're alone.” He winked, “you might get exactly what you want.” 

*

Ben pulled his car into one of the guest spots along the back of the complex, automatically putting in the sun-shield in the front window and grabbing his spare phone charger from the glove box and stuffing it into his pocket. Crossing the parking lot felt like walking through a sauna, the sky above a merciless sort of white-blue he usually didn't expect to see until February. The rain, while it persisted nearly every afternoon, usually left the city feeling hotter than it did the day before. 

“It's only December.” he muttered as he joined Rey on the sidewalk. “Short drive.” 

“Yeah.” She waved her hand in front of her face, “let's get inside before one of us passes out. A heavy lunch, plus hot day equals nap.” she punched in a security code into the entrance, flinching, “don't worry, the air conditioner works.” 

Stepping into the building made a world of a difference. “One or two floors up?”

“Two, sorry. We don't have an elevator.” They started up the stairs. “I suppose I shouldn't complain, I used to live on the sixth floor of a building in London, and I swear, some nights, it felt like I climbed twenty flights of stairs.” 

Ben tried to focus on something besides the way the skirt of Rey's dress moved as they went up the stairs. “Free cardio, no gym membership required.”

“True.” They came to the last landing, and she adjusted her keyring, undoing the series of locks on the right-side door. “I have no idea why they have so many, because if someone's going to climb all those stairs to rob a flat, I don't think they'd have the motivation to knock down said door, or pick the locks.” 

“Maybe it's to keep people safe from possible psycho neighbors.” he shrugged as they went into the flat. 

“Wouldn't doubt it.” She set her purse and keys onto a small table as he shut the door, slotting the locks back into place. “You want something to drink?” She left her sandals a few feet away as she moved into the space, and he watched her go into the tiny kitchen, opening the fridge in a rather weak attempt to avoid the subject. 

He slid out of his own shoes, following her. “No, thank you.” 

She turned, leaning back against the counter, “you know I'm not good at this.” 

“I think you are.” He stepped up in front of her, setting his hands on her hips. “or do you want to take a nap first?” He brushed his lips against hers. “Either way, I'm good.” 

Rey rested her arms on his shoulders, smiling, “good, huh?” She pulled him into a kiss, tugging on his bottom lip with both of hers. 

He almost groaned as the kiss deepened; he'd nearly forgotten how good the little alpha tasted; the formal, rather constrained times of their last few meetings had worn him thin. He started to bunch the skirt of her dress in one hand, slipping the other under it and between her legs to rub the gusset of her panties; soaking wet. “I think you have something besides a nap in mind.” 

“Fuck.” She gasped as he continued the motion. “yes.”

“How Duchess?” He kissed her neck, moving the fabric aside to rub her directly. His cock, already half hard, started to stiffen further. “Quick and dirty, or do I have to entice my way into your pants?” He slipped a finger inside her, grinning as she gasped.

“I think...” she swallowed as he added a second finger, “we need to take the edge off.” She grasped his wrist, “but not in here.” 

He stepped back, almost pained to have withdrawn his hands, watching her move around him. “Yes?” 

“Follow me.” She moved into the apartment's small bedroom, and he did as bid, and he wrapped an arm around her waist as they entered, “Ben?” 

“Taking the edge off sounds good.” He nuzzled her neck, “put your hands on the foot board.” 

She shivered as she did, “I think we're overdressed.” 

“Nonsense.” He slid his hands back up under her skirt, drawing her panties down her thighs. “Dirty things first, Duchess.” He let the garment fall and she kicked it aside as he undid the fastening of his cargo shorts. “should our conversation match our actions?” He pushed his pants and boxers down low enough to free his cock, and he let out a soft whine in relief.

Rey spread her legs as he hiked her skirt back up, rubbing the head of his cock against her entrance. “Absolutely.” She breathed, “so empty, Alpha.” 

“Yes, you are” He thrust forward, groaning as he sank into her heat. “Better?” 

“More.” She tilted her head down, bracing her body with her arms. “I need more.” 

“I know you do.” He grasped her hips with his hands and withdrew, driving his cock deeper as he filled her again. “Need a good fuck and knotting.” He grinned as he repeated the movement. “Going to take you here, Duchess. Hard and fast.”

“Yes.” She hissed as he filled her, “so good, Alpha.” 

“Wait until I have you in your bed, little alpha. Get it soaked in my scent.” He grinned as her hips rocked back to meet his. “So you can think of me in your bed even when I'm not there.” 

Rey let out a whine, “yes...” she shivered. “need a good knotting... or five.” 

“Five knottings, Duchess?” he chuckled, nipping her ear. “If you're a good girl, I may give you six.” 

*

Padme set the last meatball into the pan, looking over at Cora, who stood on her stool at the end of the kitchen island. “How are you doing, Bean?” 

The girl frowned, biting her bottom lip as she surveyed the multiple cooling racks, “I think we forgot to make a batch of something, Nana.”

She laughed, tugging off the disposable gloves and taking them to the trash. “I won't make the Mexican Wedding Cakes until the end of the week. If I made them now, between your dad and Grand-dad they'd all get eaten before your grandparents get halfway across the Pacific.” 

“Grandma likes them too.” Cora rubbed her nose, “why did grand-dad go take a nap? Naps are for babies.” 

“He didn't sleep well last night.” Padme hated how easily the lie fell from her lips. She'd used it to her own children, to her grandson, and now with her great-grandchild. Well, maybe it wasn't always a lie, but she said it so automatically by now, she doubted she could change. “He just needs a short lie down and he'll be more than ready to play a few rounds of Chutes and Ladders after dinner.” 

“What's for dinner?” She gave the cookies another look, “and can I please have one of the oatmeal raisin kind now?” 

Padme chuckled, coming over and handing the girl one of the treats. “Just one, Bean. And we're having tacos. Something relatively simple.” She smoothed Cora's hair down, “you eat your cookie and take a break. You've helped make this whole baking process go twice as fast.” 

The girl have her a slightly incredulous look as she got down from the step-stool and went over to the kitchen table to sit. “and the meatballs, Gran. I helped you roll them too.” 

“So you did.” she went back to the stove. “We're going to do more baking tomorrow, what else is missing besides the wedding cakes?” 

“Anything with chocolate in it.” she nibbled at the cookie, “are we going to make dessert for Sunday dinner too?” 

“Maybe, Bean.” Padme managed a smile. “Have you seen Miss Rey at your house lately?” True, reliable and detailed information didn't often come from four year old girls, but Cora, like her father and grandmother – paid more attention to adults than other kids her age. 

“Dad said she was meeting him for lunch today.” she frowned, “but I don't know where or when.” she stuffed the rest of the morsel into her mouth, turning her gaze back out the window. 

She set the lid on the pan of meatballs, knowing the conversation wouldn't go on, pausing as her phone buzzed on the counter. “Wonder who's calling us...” she picked up the device, her eyes widening as she saw the name on the ID before answering. “Luke, are you all right?” 

“I'm fine, Mom.” her son made an odd noise. “why do you always think I'm in some sort of trouble or injured when I call?” 

“Hi, Uncle Luke.” Cora said from the table. 

Padme sighed, “habit, young man. I'm your mother, I worry about you.” She leaned against the counter, “and Cora says hi.” 

Her son chuckled, “ah, I see I've called on holiday baking day.” he cleared his throat, “and in answer to your unasked question, it's currently four thirty in the afternoon here in Mongolia.” 

She shot a look at the table and back at the stove. “Mongolia? I thought you were headed to Peru.” 

“Um....” the pause made her straighten. “Well...” 

Padme took a deep breath, looking back at the table. “Cora, honey, would you mind going and checking on your grand-dad? Don't wake him up if he's sleeping... I just want you to see what he's doing.” 

The girl slid out of her chair, giving her a clear look of 'I do not buy this bullshit' so reminiscent of Leia, it bordered on terrifying. “Okay, grand-nana.” She gave her one last look over her shoulder before slipping out of sight into the family room.

“What's going on, Luke? I know you're not in Mongolia. Where the hell are you?” She wrapped her free arm around her waist, “please say you're not in jail.” 

“No mom.” Her son took a breath. “I'm in Reykjavik. Iceland.” 

“I know where the city is located, young man. Not unless there's a spit in the dust town in the States with the same name.” she took a sip from her glass of tea. “And you're in Iceland, why? I can't imagine it's the right time of year for photography there.”

“Mongolia's not much better.” he let out a breath, “I um... I met someone and felt it more important to spend the holidays with her family... and besides...” 

Padme let out a sigh of relief. “Do not scare me like this again, Luke.” She saw Cora come back into the room, peering around the corner at her cautiously. “It's all right, Bean.” she focused on the dials of the stove. “So what's the correct time then?” 

“Six in the morning.” There was a muffled noise, followed by someone speaking; when, exactly, had her son learned Icelandic? “Sorry, um...” 

“You are worse than Benny. At least he gives me a little more information than you have.” Though she didn't quite blame her son for going back to Iceland for the holiday than coming here. If he'd found someone from the tiny island country where winter shows up in October, the heat of Australia had to borderline on lethal. Of course, the weather here was lethal to everyone, even those who'd never seen snow. “Shouldn't you be sleeping?” 

“I slept on the plane, and no, you may not call Leia first, besides, she'd kill me if I called her in the middle of the night.” He took a breath, “her name's Nellie, she's a bit younger than I am.” 

“A bit younger.” she glanced over at Cora, who had returned to a chair, peering at her from between the spindles of the chair-back as she heard the familiar whirring sound of Anakin moving his wheelchair across the wooden floor towards the kitchen. “I'll make this simple for you, is she older or younger than Ben?” 

“Uh... same age? He's thirty two, right?” he coughed, “wait...” 

Padme rolled her eyes and lowered her phone, turning the speaker device on. “How old 's your dad, Bean?” 

“He's thirty-six. Really _old_.” Cora answered as Anakin came into the room.

“What's going on, Bean?” He asked, “who's nana talking to?”

“Uncle Luke. I think he's got a _girlfriend._ ” The girl dissolved into giggles.

“Mom!” Her son cried, indignantly, “I...” 

“About bloody time!” Anakin replied, “bring the phone over to the table, Padme. And don't even think of hanging up, young man, or I'll sic your sister on you.” 

Padme came over to the table, ruffling Cora's hair. “Manners, both of you.” she paused, “I'm talking to you and your father, Luke. Cora's excused.” 

*

The bedclothes were filthy. Rey couldn't bring herself to care very much about how dirty; not with Ben's cock and knot buried in her cunt, his heartbeat pounding in her ear as they came down from their fourth time in the bed. She would change them come morning; she planned on stuffing them into an airtight bag to preserve the scent, so she could use them again during her heat in a few weeks. She let out a groan as Ben's hand settled on her lower back. “I don't think I can feel my legs.” 

He chuckled, kissing the top of her head. “Apart from numb legs, are you comfortable?” His other hand cupped her rear. 

“Very.” She let out a weak giggle. “I think we've gone beyond taking the edge off.” She grinned, “though this may make Sunday dinner awkward.” she grinned as he pinched her bottom. “You know what I mean.” 

“I do, on the contrary, we'll find it far easier to enjoy the meal having taking a good deal of the tension out.” Ben grunted faintly as his cock released again. “I rather like having you in this position.” 

Rey grinned, kissing his chin. “Agreed.” she heard the air conditioner kick on, and she moved her arms to rest on his chest. “I also think we may have burned off our lunch.”

He smoothed his hand over her backside. “You're an woman with a healthy appetite, and aren't ashamed to admit it.”

She smiled, contentedly. “For more things than food,” she closed her eyes, letting her emotions settle. “I don't know what's gotten into me.” 

Ben snorted, “if I say Alpha cock, you going to swat me?” 

“No.” she tensed as she felt him throb as he spilled more of his spend in her depths, “but you make a compelling argument.” 

His other hand combed her hair. “maybe we should get up for a little while, take a bit of a break. At least to eat something and I'm certain we both have messages on our phones.” 

“So comfy though...” she rubbed her cheek on his chest. “do we need to bring something for dinner tomorrow?” 

“I need to make a salad, we're having spaghetti and meatballs. I can do it tomorrow morning.” He shifted under her. “and no, I can't grab a bag of the stuff from the store. My gran would have a fit; I can get one and improve it – but...” 

“I know what you're saying.” She sighed, opening her eyes as she heard her phone buzz from the kitchen. “I know who would call you, but who do you think would call me?” 

“Gran. Wanting to ask you if you want to come help bake, or Granddad, doing the same thing.” he let out a contented hum, “I shouldn't complain...”

“Well, it makes sense, alpha females aren't exactly known for their amazing domestic skills.” she grinned, “my incredible toast making ability aside.” she hissed as she felt a tug on her entrance, “still bit too swollen.” 

“Yeah.” Ben panted, “not hurt, are you?”

“No.” She breathed, “you want to stay here tonight?” 

“Tempting, Duchess...” he rubbed her back in lazy circles, “but I have cats who will leave unpleasant things in my shoes if I don't feed them regularly.” he smiled, “so would you like to move our party to my place?”

Rey snickered, “sounds nice. I suspect you may have a better stocked fridge than mine.” She folded her arms, resting them on his chest, “and I know you have a bigger shower.” 

He smoothed her hair out of her face, smiling, “I'm a big guy.” 

“Oh I am quite aware of your size.” she let out a low gasp as he released again. “I think I can stand some sweat and dirt for a little while.” She nuzzled his collarbone, “though we're likely to just get dirty again.” 

His hand on her back stilled. “A valid point, so perhaps I should leave earlier, let you pack a toothbrush and whatnot, and have dinner ready by the time you get there. Save us some time.” 

Rey resisted the urge to yawn. She could easily fall asleep in this position; and another, more subtle wave of her lover's scent invaded her senses. Spending the night alone in this bed drenched in smell would drive her insane. “Don't go to any trouble, I'm good with leftovers.” 

Ben kissed her forehead, “I'll hold you to that, but I'm afraid there's not many to choose from, I tend to eat most of our leftovers for lunch or pack them up for kiln nights.” 

*

Leia scanned the rack of coats, trying to blot out the awful holiday music piped over the speakers in Crazy Eights. Who named these clothing stores anyway? Cora would need something plenty warm, but give her room to move as well. She wrinkled her nose at the painfully pink coats, spattered with silver stars. “I can't remember if Ben said she likes pink or purple more...” 

Her phone buzzed in her back pocket and she frowned; who'd call her on a Saturday morning? Maybe Han needed something. She pulled the device out and frowned at the caller ID. “Weird...” she took a breath before answering. “Morning Luke, how's Peru?” 

“I'm not in Peru.” He took a deep breath “good, Mom didn't call you first.” 

She stood, moving to the next rack of coats; these looked more promising. A little less – babyish. “why would Mom call me? What's going on?” 

“Sort of.” he sighed, “I met someone – and I'm sort of with her family right now.” 

Leia closed her eyes and counted to ten. “Well, I already knew you weren't going to Brisbane, but I suppose this is better than worrying about you spending time alone.” she didn't need to tell him it was about time he'd settled down; their parents, no doubt, had already taken care of that part of the conversation. “So it's serious then?” 

“Yeah. But uh... she's an omega.” He sounded odd; like his girlfriend's status was something she would object to. “I know, it sounds weird, finding an unmated omega in Mongolia when she's from Iceland...” 

“Oh hush, I'm certain she's a lovely woman. When do you plan on bringing her to meet your family?” She picked up a quilted purple coat from the rack. “This is cute.” she paused, “I was talking to myself.” 

“I wasn't going to say anything. Christmas shopping?” Luke let out a breath, “I should have mailed things before I left.” 

“I don't think the post from Iceland is any faster to Brisbane than from anywhere in Mongolia. Geography not withstanding.” she paused, “so, do I get a name or do I have to guess?” 

“Nellie.” He chuckled, “and given her lack of heat tolerance, I'm going to put down the trip to Australia at a time when it's no longer summer in the Southern Hemisphere, unless she starts feeling brave.” 

“I don't blame you.” She ran her hand along the faux fur lining the hood of the coat. “I already have something for Cora for Christmas. Ben asked me to find her a coat, they have to make a trip up to Canada in February.” 

“I won't press for details right now, since you're in public.” he coughed, “Bean outed me having a girlfriend to Dad. I should have known Mom would put the phone on speaker.” There was a clink of something on his end – a coffee cup, maybe? “and before you ask, yes, they asked about the possibility of grandchildren.” 

Leia nearly dropped the phone. “So Nellie's a bit younger than you then?” 

“Yeah, a bit – okay, so she's half my age and...” he sighed, “I'll spare you details.” 

She rolled her eyes. “I wasn't going to ask, but you better send tons of pictures or Mom's going to never let you hear the end of it.” She tucked the phone between her chin and ear as she reached into the sleeve of the coat, testing the thickness. Perfect. “I think I'm going to pick Cora up some sweaters too.” 

“Thanks for reminding me, ever since I saw them I've wondered - who's the woman with Ben in the pictures of Bean's dance recital?” Luke coughed, “oh, it's snowing.” 

“Yeah, I'm told snow is pretty common in Iceland.” she snickered, “The woman is Rey. I haven't gotten much information about her, but she's spending Christmas with us down in Brisbane, so I'm going to find out everything.” 

*

Ben closed his eyes as the hot water gushed down over him and Rey, letting the warmth of the shower and her slight weight against his collarbone soothe him as his hands rested on the small of her back and the nape of her neck. He pressed his lips against her scalp as her arms tightened around his waist. “I think this is wonderful.” 

“Extremely so.” she let out a low groan. “Whomever invited these rain-shower style shower heads deserves some kind of award.” she let out a slight giggle. “and the company in here makes it even better.” 

He grinned, kissing her forehead. “I didn't think of shared time in here when I looked at the master suite. I needed one I could fit in.” His hand slipped down to cup her rear. “Which I'm certain you've heard a time or two.” 

Rey grinned, “yes, which is one of the reasons I hate designing houses. Some people don't get the whole growing into a home thing.” Her hands moved up to rest on his shoulder-blades. “I can't imagine what realtors go through.” 

“I said two and a half baths,” he let out a contented sigh, “because privacy.” He opened his eyes, keeping his focus on the tile behind her. “I could get used to this.” 

“Makes two of us.” She shifted, kissing the underside of his chin. “In all truth, I could spend the rest of the night snuggling and watching cheesy movies.” she made a contented hum, “though that might be a result of having an afternoon of mind-blowing sex.” 

Ben smiled, kissing her forehead again. “I think we could take in a light hearted movie or two. Though my cheesy movie selection is slim.” He shifted his gaze down her back. “I don't believe I have told you what a pretty butt you have.” 

Rey shook her head, giggling, “no, you haven't. Though I haven't exactly spent much time looking at my posterior, unless I'm checking the fit of my pants or skirts over it.” 

He slid his other hand down to join the first, “in my experience, fitting room mirrors flatter no one.”

“We should use some soap and finish cleaning up, as nice as it feels in here, our skin will not thank us.” She pulled away from him, taking up a mesh sponge and small bottle of shower gel. 

“Right.” He picked up his own sponge and soap. “you remember to pack a bottle of lotion?” he tried not to watch too hard as she lathered up her breasts. 

“Of course,” she replied, giving him a coy look, “keep your hands to yourself, Benjamin.” 

He grinned, “all right then, Freya...” He soaped up his arms. “I take it I'm allowed to look all I want.”

Her expression broke as she burst into laughter. “We sound like bad porn.” she turned her back to him as she continued to wash. “And don't tell me otherwise.”

“I don't watch porn, and I think we sound more like a beta written rom-com.” he snickered, “who watches too much porn.” 

She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Point.” she ran a free hand through her hair. “Little conditioner, nothing else needed here.” 

Ben nodded, turning his focus to washing his legs and feet. “Whatever movie we watch, we're going to need popcorn.” He stepped out of the spray to give her better access to it. “You feeling okay?” 

“Good sore.” Rey answered, setting her bottle of conditioner on the high shelf on the side of the shower. “Though I shouldn't complain, considering....” She stepped into the spray, rinsing off. “Okay, that sounded a little bad.” 

“I love hearing you ask for what you want.” he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “you're allowed to be bad when in the right setting.” He grinned and moved closer to whisper against her ear. “Like I don't know what you did with the sheets on your bed after I left.” 

“Can you blame me?” She looked up at him, lifting her chin. “We can't spend my heat next month together.... I mean....” 

He nodded, kissing her cheek again. “I know.” He gave her a once over, “we're not ready for, well...” he stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. 

“We haven't know each other long enough.” she turned off the water and he held a towel out for her to step into, and kissed the top of her head as she closed it around her chest. “Though I think we're doing a decent job of getting to know one another.” 

“Yes we are.” He stepped aside to let her go into his bedroom first, “you want some help with your lotion?” 

*

Han ran through the checklist of what still needed to get done before he and Leia left for Australia on Wednesday. Trash, snow removal, mail stop – all taken care of, and he crossed a few other items out as Leia went past him and opened the fridge. “Afraid the pickings are slim in there, Princess.” 

“I don't need much...” she took out the carton of milk, setting it on the counter before going into the pantry. “Sometimes, you just need a bowl of cereal.” 

“And how.” he answered, covering a yawn. “I'll take care of the library returns on my way to work tomorrow, just leave yours in a stack on the kitchen table.” 

“Why do you always specify the table? Do you think I'm going to leave them on the coffee table?” She snickered, “so fussy.” 

“We have three coffee tables, Sweetheart. One in the living room, one in the bedroom and one in the rec room.” he frowned, “why the hell do we have a coffee table our bedroom anyway?” 

“For non-dresser clutter.” she came over and sat down. “I have a feeling my mother will want to start cleaning things out of her and dad's home while we're down there.” she paused, “we could stand to do the same.” 

“Still no chance of Luke showing up this year?” He set his pen down and rubbed his eyes. 

“He's in Iceland, with his – he finally found someone and he's there, with her family.” There was a clunk of spoon against ceramic. “Though it seems a little weird to me.” 

“Weird how?” He frowned at the list. “don't let me forget to turn off the ice maker.” 

“I won't.” She mixed the contents of her bowl up, why, he had no idea – she did it no matter if it was frosted shredded wheat or the current contents; Lucky Charms. “I just think it's odd Luke finds an omega, who I might mention, is younger than our son, and acts like it's no big deal.” 

Han gave her a look. “Maybe he's lonely, maybe she's known one too many abusive alphas.” he shrugged, “I just know he's crazy if he tries to waltz down to Brisbane with the girl and think he can take over the shoppe from your parents.”

Leia rolled her eyes, “he's clueless enough at times he might actually try that.” she ate a spoonful of cereal and chewed thoughtfully.

“He does and Ben's alpha girlfriend is going to go territorial on the both of them.” He idly twirled the pen in his hand, noting her surprised look. “Come on, you saw the photos from Cora's dance recital. Rey Johnson may not realize it yet, but she'd claw the eyes out of someone who tried to wreck what's in place down there.” 

“I'm not territorial, and I'm an alpha female.” Leia countered, the offended look on her face made Han grin. “I'm not!” 

“I remember we had to find a house with two closets in the master bedroom because you refused to share.” He rested his elbow on the table, his grin widening. “you have four drawers to my one in the bathroom, and don't go saying it's because you're a woman and need more.” 

“Scruffy looking moose herder.” she glowered at him, “you don't have a problem with my...” the spoon clattered to the table, the tips of her ears going red. “Why?”

He chuckled, picking up the notepad and standing. “Because I love it when you get all alpha on me.” He kissed her cheek as he passed her. “Would you run the dishwasher when you're finished with your snack? I'm going to get the suitcases out of the guest room closet.” 

*

Rey listened to the sound of Ben breathing next to her, deep in peaceful slumber. Despite their afternoon at her place and this evening spent mostly in his bed, she couldn't slip over the edge into rest. She moved so she could lay more fully against him, her head on his chest. Why couldn't she sleep? 

Ben let out a soft groan as he moved under her, his hand falling from her back as he began to snore. 

Snoring had no right to sound so damn adorable.

Sighing, she closed her eyes, focusing on Ben's heartbeat. 

This whole situation felt so wrong and so right at the same time. Here she lay, her stomach full of food, her body warmed by an attentive lover, safe, secure, - and she didn't mind his snores. The air conditioner kicked on, and she grimaced as a screech of tires came from somewhere outside.

“Stupid kids need to stop watching _Mad Max._ ” Ben muttered, and his hand returned to her back. “You're going to wake people up.” 

“Or hit something.” she added, yawning. “What time is it?” 

“Late.” He replied, his other hand coming up to stroke her hair. “Why are we not asleep yet?” 

“I don't know. Is the moon full?” She grinned against his skin, “okay, stupid old wives tale.” 

“I'm not getting out of this highly comfortable position and place to go check.” He snickered, “and the only alphas go out and howl at the moon are teenagers or don't have to worry about getting attacked by the local fauna.” 

“You know, for as long as I have lived in Australia, I still haven't seen a kangaroo?” She chuckled as he pushed on her hip, and she slid up to lie on him fully, and she grinned as she felt his cock growing hard against her thigh. “I thought you were already comfortable.” She giggled as he nuzzled her neck.

“This is better.” He breathed, “Pretty little alpha.” he tugged on her ear with his teeth. “addictive.” 

She adjusted her knees on either side of her hips. “Well, at least we know how to behave in mixed company.” She snickered, “most of the time.” her words fell brokenly as he began to suck on her pulse point. “Ben..” 

“Freya.” He whispered; and the mere act of speaking her name made her shiver. “Duchess.” His arm wrapped around her waist, holding her in place as he thrust upward, his cock rubbing against her thigh. “You're a feast.” 

Swallowing, she slid a hand into his hair, tugging it gently. “Am I?” 

“Yes.” Ben reversed their positions, grinning down at her as he slid a pillow under her head. “I believe it's time for a snack.” He brushed his lips against hers before starting to kiss down her front, spreading her legs wider. “Something down here smells delicious...” 

She arched her back, closing her eyes as his lips brushed her bellybutton. “Does it?” 

“Oh yes,” his hands settled on her hips and she hissed as his nose nudged her clit. “I think I found the source...” his tongue darted inside her cunt, and he chuckled against her mound. “Yes.” He closed his mouth over her clit and began to suck. 

Rey's hands tightened in his hair, focusing on nothing but the amazing feeling of her lover devouring her, and the incredible smell of an alpha male's bed. 

A bed she never wanted to leave.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another semi-lazy Sunday for the Skywalkers and Solos, though Ben's dreading the conversation he needs to have with Cora.

Rey turned over in the bed, trying to determine what woke her up. She rubbed at her eyes, recalling she and Ben had fallen into his bed after eating dinner, and in truth, she didn't remember falling asleep either. Yawning, she sat up as she heard a soft clang from outside in the house; a pan hitting the stove. “He better not go overboard with breakfast again, I'm good with cereal. Stupid innate need to show what a good provider you are.” sliding out of bed and picking up Ben's discarded t-shirt from the floor and slipping it on, she padded out into the great room, covering another yawn. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” Ben gave her a far too chipper for this hour of the morning smile. “What kind of eggs do you want? Hard boiled and poached are not available this morning.”

“I think I'll go with sunny side up, please.” she went over to the electric kettle. “No more questions before tea.”

“I'll do my best.” he quipped, taking a sip from his own mug as she got one out and busied herself with making a cuppa. “Your phone is fully charged and is sitting on the counter in front of me.”

“Thank you.” she grumbled, going to the fridge. “I keep forgetting you don't put milk in your tea. But you do put it in coffee, so it makes no bloody sense to me at all.”

“Coffee and tea taste completely different.” he answered as she finished fixing her cup and put the milk back. “Coffee needs something to make it taste decent. Tea can usually stand on its own.”

“Whatever.” she shuffled over and sat down in front of the island, lifting the string attached to the teabag and working it up and down. “It's still Sunday, right?”

“Afraid so.” he dropped a pat of butter into the skillet, “we didn't sleep as long as it felt, but I can understand your thinking. Sometimes, if you get an exceptionally good night's sleep, you think it's longer than it really is.”

“Guess.” she stretched her arms out, yawning for a third time. “What time is it?”

“Quarter to nine.” he took a drink from his mug. “I'd ask if you want toast, but you said no questions, so...”

“Smart ass.” Rey rested her cheek on her fist. “and yes, I would like toast with my breakfast today.” she gave her teabag a few more dunks before lifting it out, along with her spoon and set it on the counter. “This okay?”

“I have a four year old who is still mastering the use of eating utensils, so yes, it's perfectly fine.” he reached over, took the teabag and tossed it into the sink. “There we go.”

She took a large sip of tea, watching him over the rim as he opened the carton of eggs. “thank you.”

“You're welcome. Go on and drink some tea, turn back into a human.” He grinned, turning to drop a few slices of bread into the toaster before taking an egg and cracking it against the edge of the skillet, dropping the contents expertly down into the waiting sizzling butter and tossed the shells into the sink before picking up a second egg and repeating the gesture.

“Augh, I could never do that. I always get shell in the pan. I have to use a bowl.” Rey lowered her mug. “I also can't fry an egg without breaking the yolk.”

“Practice.” Ben replied, as he added a third egg to the skillet. “All I know is, poaching eggs don't taste good enough to go about the trouble of making them. If you want 'em poached, go out for breakfast or brunch.”

“No kidding. I don't care what Gordon Ramsay says, it's not easy.” she glowered, “of course it's easy for him, how long has he been cooking?”

“I know you can improve anything if you spend time on it, but where do you find the time to practice and still get everything else done?” he grinned, “fortunately, I have mastered plenty of braids for Cora, mostly thanks to YouTube tutorials and a patient subject.”

She gave him a surprised look. “Cora sits still?”

“Give her an I-Pad and a coloring book app, and yes, she sits still.” he chuckled as a fourth egg joined the others. “Now, getting her to do it on a morning before school, it's a completely different story.”

The microwave beeped and he turned to get a paper-towel covered plate out from within. “Bacon, eggs, toast.... what am I missing, and don't you dare say beans. Beans have no place at breakfast.”

Rey set down her mug, chuckling. “I'm not too fond of them for any meal, unless it's Mexican. I never saw the appeal of baked beans in the first place, when there's so many other wonderful sides you can have instead. Potatoes, mushrooms, stewed tomatoes...”

“Exactly.” Ben took out two plates and uncovered the bacon, dividing the strips between them as the toaster popped up. “See, almost perfectly timed.”

“If I hadn't gotten out of bed when I did, you wouldn't.” she smirked.

“Notice how I didn't cook the eggs until you sat down. The bacon would have kept in the microwave, and the toast could wait too.” he gave her a wink as he finished serving up the food, setting one plate down in front of her. “Do you need jam for your toast?”

“No, thank you, butter's enough since I have egg yolk.” she frowned, “uh, where are the cats? I haven't seen them this morning.”

Almost perfectly on cue, both cats raced down the stairs, Leroux chasing Camille back towards the mud room.

“They're about to go on the circuit, they always do when I have the carriers out.” Ben chuckled, “trouble is, they don't know where they're bound, they always think it's the vet.” He paused, “well, Leroux is better about it than Camille. I think he was kennel trained as a kitten.”

“Rejected show cat, for some flaw you can't figure out.” she picked up her fork, cutting one her eggs in two. “so is he an American Short-hair or a British Short-Hair?”

He laughed, coming around the counter. “Technically, he's an Australian short-hair, but his origin is America, so America short-hair. Fierce killer of crickets.” He sat down as Camille pranced back into the room. “Miss Fluff here is a mix of a Ragdoll and Maine Coon. One half really likes humans and wants affection and the other just wants to watch you do things.”

“Well, at least they get along with each other.” she picked up a slice of toast to sop up the spilled yolk. “so, have you gotten all the Santa Claus shopping done?”

“Most of it.” Ben let out a breath, “fortunately, I've kept a list of every stuffed animal she's got, so I don't accidentally get her a double.” he sliced into his own eggs. “Most of what I have left are art supplies. “A big package of printer paper, a box of sixty four crayons, construction paper, and glue sticks. Though I swear those things are on my Target list every other trip.”

“Sounds like my list which has pencils on it constantly.” she cleared her throat. “Though I might not have the issue if I didn't snap so many in half in sheer frustration.” she thought for a moment. “Or else I have a drawer in my apartment which keeps eating them. Both sound plausible.”

“Given my dryer's tendency to eat socks, I'm fully prepared to believe in a pencil eating drawer.” Ben answered before taking a large bite of toast.

*

Anakin looked over the rim of his teacup at Cora, who was more poking at her cereal than eating it. Since she'd gotten up this morning, the girl hadn't spoken much; and, in the great Skywalker tradition, didn't want to talk about her mood. He didn't blame her if she didn't sleep much, the dingos had put on a concert last night and the only person he had a feeling who slept straight through it was Padme.

Padme could sleep through anything.

He put down his mug. “Anything wrong with the frosted flakes, Bean?”

“No, grandad.” she ate a spoonful, chewing methodically.

“Those dogs woke you up too, huh?” he chuckled, “thank goodness the kangaroos aren't loud.” he saw a hint of a smile on her face. “You think your gran and grandpa up in Canada have a problem with moose?”

“I dunno.” she ate another spoonful of cereal, not looking at him. “I don't think they come into Toronto.” she paused, “I need to save that city for an animal name. I don't have a Toronto, or a London.”

He picked up his toast, taking a bite. “do your teachers know that you know all these city names and what country they're in?”

Cora adjusted her hold on her spoon. “I dunno. Some of the kids at school called me a know-it-all a few times. I don't get it, the teacher asks a question, I know the answer, am I not supposed to raise my hand?”

Anakin shook his head, “I can't tell you, Cora Bean. I haven't been in school in a very long time. When I was your age, the Montessori method wasn't as widespread as it is today. I didn't go to school for the first time until I was six. Your grandma's grandma, my mom, was the one who taught me how to read and write before I got there.”

She ate a few more spoonfuls of cereal as Padme shuffled into the kitchen, giving each of them a nod before going over to the electric kettle to make tea. “You want some more toast, Anakin?”

“I'm good, Padme, thank you.” he gave Cora another once over as returned to poking her frosted flakes. “How about you? You want some toast, Bean?”

“No, thank you.” she pushed the bowl away and folded her arms on the table, hiding her face in them. “I want daddy.”

Anakin exchanged a look with Padme, who came and felt the girl's forehead. This was far from the first time Cora has spent the night here, or even this long at their home, but at the same time...

“You don't feel feverish.” Padme let out a breath and knelt down, giving the girl a hug, which she slowly returned. “We'll give him a call, see if he can't come over earlier, okay? We can switch dinner time from five to three.”

“Then it's not dinner.” her voice was muffled by her grandmother's neck. “three o'clock isn't dinner time.”

“It is on Christmas.” Padme replied, rubbing the child's back. “and given lunch was once called dinner, it's exactly right.” she kissed the top of the girl's head and picked up the cereal bowl. “I'll add a little more to this. Frosted flakes aren't good when everything's all mushy.”

“Nope.” Cora answered, “thank you.” she rubbed her nose as Padme took the bowl back across the room.

“We still have cookies to decorate.” Anakin gave her an encouraging smile, “given the way he paints, I'm sure your dad wouldn't want to miss out on all the fun.” he picked up his slice of toast, spreading a little more Marmite on the bread as Padme returned with the bowl, along with her own plate of toast. “don't let the tea steep too long.”

“I only have two hands, Annie.” she quipped, going back to retrieve her mug.

“I know.” he pulled her plate towards him and spread Marmite on one slice, jam on the other. “And you also tell me not to fuss over you. Yet I still do it.”

Padme came back to the table, giving him a look as she pulled back her plate of toast. “Stubbornness is a Skywalker trait.” She added a little milk and sugar to her mug. “and it's quite endearing.”

“You like it when I fuss over you.” He smirked over his mug and Cora started giggling.

*

Ben checked his list, and turned to the jars of pasta sauce, doing his best to shut out the wretched music coming over the speakers. He never could figure out who enjoyed listening to the sort of songs which Woolworth's played, and really, if the idea was to get customers in and out of the store as fast as possible, in his case, it worked. At least it wasn't horrible holiday music. 

He selected two of the chunky mushroom, one of five cheese, and one of garlic and onion. At least the place wasn't crowded. 

He turned and picked a few of the packages of pasta. “what else do I need from this isle?” he covered a yawn, and headed up towards the salsa. “Wonder if I should get a jar of queso cheese too.” he jolted as his phone buzzed in his back pocket. “wonder who...” he took the device out, frowning at the number before shaking his head and answering. “Is this grandma or this my Cora Bean?”

“Hi, daddy.” Cora answered, “where are you?”

“Market.” he grinned, “getting lots and lots of canned spinach.”

“Blech.” she replied, and she made a sniffling noise.

He stopped, standing up straight. “Bean, you okay?”

“Sorta.” she sighed, “can you come to granddad and nana's house early?”

Ben swallowed, “of course, Bean. I can head on over as soon as I take the groceries home. I can't leave the milk and frozen things in the car, it'd make a terrible mess and smell awful.”

“Thank you daddy! We have cookies to decorate!” he could hear her tone change and relief washed over him. “Granddad said you'd want to help.”

“Of course I would.” he meant it, taking a few jars of salsa off the shelf. “Speaking of cookies, since I'm at the store, do we need anything to help in the decorating department? Icing, sprinkles, those little red cinnamon things that get caught in your teeth?” He headed up the aisle, and into the next.

“Ew.” There was a shuffling noise, “nana wants to talk to you.”

“Okay, Bean.” he smiled, stopping in front of the cereal and he heard her relinquish the phone. “Hi, Nana.”

“Hello, Ben.” Padme sounded about as tired as he felt. “I know you have things to get done today, and...”

“Nonsense.” he waved his hand dismissively before selecting the cereal. “I don't mind coming over early. I'll bring the salad ingredients with me and assemble them there, if you're okay with it.”

“Absolutely, it'll save some time as well.” she took a breath, “dinner time is switched to three, so if Rey is planning on attending, make sure she knows.” a pause, “she's not with you right now, is she?”

“No, ma'am. I'm grocery shopping and I think she is tackling her laundry.” he shrugged and continued on, “do you need anything for cookie decorating?” He grabbed two boxes of pancake mix and continued down the aisle. “or anything else you need at the house?”

There was a rustling noise and a clatter before she spoke again. “We need holiday sprinkles, the red, white and green mix. Also, granddad wants you to check and see if the store has any of the Chicken and Waffle flavored Lays.” she chuckled, “as long as they're not the kettle cooked variety.”

Ben doubled back to the international food aisle. “I'll look, but the things are seasonal.” he snickered, “chips with a season. I don't know what's funnier, that, or the fact I have to go to the American section of the store to find them.”

“Well, from what your mom says, they can't get half the flavors in Canada we can here. Which makes no sense.” His grandmother made an odd noise, “excuse me. Could you also pick up some Italian bread, if it looks decent?”

“Absolutely.” he leaned against the cart as he went down the almost empty aisle. “Let me talk to Bean again before you go.”

“Not a problem, Benny. We'll see you in a little while.” She let out a soft sigh, “drive carefully.”

“I will.” he smiled as he reached the chips and scanned for the asked bag and heard a shuffling noise. “Back with me, Cora?”

“Yes, daddy.” she took a breath. “I'm not sick, I just miss you.”

“I miss you too, Bean. You need me to bring any of your friends with me? I know you took Saigon and Paris with you yesterday morning.”

“Madrid.” she replied, “The tiger Madrid, not Madrid the frog.”

He tossed the bag of chips into the cart. “I don't think I could get Camille to relinquish Madrid the frog, come to think of it, I don't know where he's hidden.”

“Prolly under the couch.” she giggled, “don't tell grandpa.”

“I won't. And thank you for reminding me, I need to get cat food and didn't put it on our list.”

*

While she wouldn't say it out loud, Rey almost felt relieved when Ben called her and told her dinner was now at three instead of five. Much as she loved the Sunday meal, she needed time to unwind when she got home, and when your alarm rang at half past six the next morning – getting to bed on time had started to become more and more important. She'd met Ben and his family what, three weeks ago? And it felt like she'd been a part of the Skywalker-Solo clan for years.

_You're finding a place to belong._

Shaking her head, she turned into the driveway, parking behind Ben's car. “I know, I know, you said bring nothing, but I had to bring something...” she turned the car off and looked at the bottle of sparkling grape juice. “I can't cook worth a darn, not outside of a crock-pot or take it out of the box, put it in the oven type of cooking.” She double checked the time before she got out, gathering her things and going around to the back door.

As she rounded the corner, she decided it was a damn good thing she already knew what Ben looked like without a shirt on, otherwise, she would have dropped the bottle at the sight of him in the swimming pool, holding onto Cora's hands as she kicked with all her might.

“Keep up the good work, Bean, you've got it!” he laughed as the girl continued on.

“Don't let go, daddy, this is the deep water!” she answered, and from here, Rey could see the water-wings pushed way up her arms.

“I won't, don't you worry.” He replied, still not looking up from her. “we're going to turn around in a minute.”

Rey leaned against the iron fence which surrounded the pool, smiling. Okay, this whole thing was too adorable.

“You're more than welcome to join them, Rey dear.” Padme's voice cut into her thoughts. “Dinner won't be for at least another hour.”

“Uh...” she ducked her head, feeling her cheeks going pink. “I don't want to intrude, and I don't have my suit with me.” she answered, knowing full well that said suit was in her gym bag in her car. She only used the thing when she went to sit in the hot tub at the gym after a particularly grueling workout.

“Well, make sure you bring it when you come for Christmas, have you seen the weather report?” Padme shook her head, “nothing but clear, hot days and my daughter and son in law are going to positively melt when they get down here.”

“Yeah.” she followed the woman inside, “um... I don't know how to swim.” her cheeks went pink at the look of surprise. “I know, I know...”

“There's nothing wrong with not knowing how to swim, Rey. You're also never too old to learn.” she gave her a once over. “I'll spare you the agony and not suggest Ben teach you.” she smiled. “However, you might want to go sit on the edge and soak your feet, that will likely feel nice.”

She shook her head. “No, I'm good.” she set down her bag. “Do you need any help here?” The only traces of a dinner underway was a pot on the stove. “I could set the table, at least.” Rey thought for a moment. “Where's Anakin?”

“Having a bit of a rest.” she sighed, “I'm starting to regret not retiring from the shoppe earlier. But I've always felt rather attached, like the place was my third child and I couldn't leave it. Not when it's the only one who stayed in Brisbane.”

Rey pulled the bottle from her bag. “I'm going to put this in the fridge. You can't drink grape juice warm. It's not like cider.”

“No.” Padme chuckled as she headed into the pantry. “We're going to have to give you a tour of the guest house soon. I don't suppose you've started packing, have you?”

“A little, mostly stuff I know I won't need between now and the middle of January.” she shut the fridge. “I almost laughed when I found my winter clothes. I thought I donated them all to a clothing drive before I left London.”

“Anakin and I need to start in on all our things. Perfectly amazing how much you can acquire when you don't pay attention.” she came back out of the pantry carrying two boxes of pasta and two jars of sauce, setting them on the counter. “I did a quick count the other day, and we have over thirty coffee and tea mugs, not counting the ones which match the dishes.”

“Sounds like the starter for a grand garage sale.” Rey offered, going over to the cupboard. “Are we having salad in bowls or do they go on the plate with the pasta?”

“Bowls and plates, it's easier.” Padme answered, “which reminds me, there's a plate of cookies in the dining room with you name on it. You are not required to share them with anyone you don't want to.”

She chuckled as she took down the plates, followed by the bowls. “I haven't seen the plate yet, so I'll give it a once over before I decide.” she carried the dishes over to the kitchen table. “I hope you didn't go overboard.”

“I rarely go overboard when it comes to baking these days.” she let out a sigh, “I don't have the energy for it. However, since Ben came over early, he may have gone into artist mode while decorating the sugar cookies.”

“I've seen his painted ceramic, I'm not surprised.” she countered, “though then you run into the problem of things becoming almost too pretty to eat.” She went back for the silverware. “Napkins?”

*

Judging from the exhausted looks on both Ben and Cora's faces, Padme felt moving dinner back to earlier in the afternoon was a brilliant idea. After the holidays, they may have to keep up the practice. She absently twirled her fork in her pasta, wondering if everyone at the table shared the tired sentiment; conversation was almost nil. She looked back down at her plate as Anakin cleared his throat.

“Your uncle called, Ben.” he let out a breath, “he's in Iceland. I don't even want to think about what the weather is like there in December, I doubt there's much sunlight to speak of.”

“I'm certain many in the world question Australian's sanity about our summers.” Rey quipped, stabbing a meatball. “Which is why I'm still waiting for the reality show where an Aussie family and a Canadian family swap houses – for the month of February.”

“Now that's just cruel.” Padme chuckled, “and yet, we all know people in London and in Los Angeles would stay glued to their television sets for the entire duration. And probably find confusion about the cuisine.” 

“Would the kids who go to Canada have to attend school?” Ben interjected, “I mean, school's still in session there until May.” He poked at his salad. “What's Uncle Luke doing in Iceland? I thought he was bound for Peru after Mongolia.”

“So did we.” Anakin put his fork down. “He's met someone and is spending the holidays with her family.” He cleared his throat. “Probably for the best, considering the weather.”

“Ah weather, what would we talk about if the subject was taboo?” Rey chuckled, spearing a pepper on her fork. “Speaking of, is there anything I need to bring for the holiday, food wise? I'm more than willing to pick up some bags of ice, or something.”

“We'll let you know by Friday, and thank you. You can never have too much ice.” Padme sliced a meatball in half. “I'm not certain when Luke intends to visit. Probably closer to April.”

“He better come home for you birthday, it's about time he did.” Anakin interjected. “I know he's not crazy enough to even think about taking over the shoppe.” he gave Ben a proud smile. “It's already in excellent hands.”

Ben's cheeks went a little pinker. “I don't think Uncle Luke has the right temperament – and besides, he's never liked the weather here.”

“True.” Padme spoke more to her plate than to anyone, setting her glass down. “Don't forget to take Bean's trike to school tomorrow, it's sports day, and make sure you put her name on it. She can't be the only little girl with an Elsa tricycle.”

“I took care of the label yesterday morning. It was on my to-do list after gathering up the trash for tomorrow.” He speared a tomato chunk on his fork. “Is it okay if I leave a box of litter here for the cats? So I have one less thing I need to pack at the end of the week?”

“Of course.” Anakin set down his fork, rubbing his eyes. “You have enough kiln sitting this week you're liable to forget it.”

“Possibly.” Ben returned his attention to his food.

Rey cleared her throat. “What's sports day at your school Cora? What games are you going to play?”

“Bean bag toss,” she ate part of a meatball. “and beach-ball golf, I dunno what else.”

“I'm sure you're going to have a lot of fun. Maybe too much fun.” she set down her fork. “How about I go to your game day and you sit in my office and answer the phone for me?” She grinned, “all you need to say is 'It'll be on your desk before the fifth.”

Cora giggled. “No! I don't want to miss game day! They're giving us ice cream!”

“I'm certain you can convince all of my coworkers to buy you every single candy bar in the vending machine. That's better than one measly ice cream.” Rey grinned, “come on, just for one day?”

“No! You're too big to ride my trike!” The girl looked ready to fall out of her chair in her mirth.

“She's teasing you, Bean.” Ben snickered, “besides, you can't go downtown on the bus alone. Not until you're twenty, and even then I might not let you.”

Rey sat back, folding her arms and gave an extremely impressive pout. “I wanted to go to sports day.”

Padme patted the woman's arm. “You really don't, dear. You'll get a frightful headache. It's incredible how much noise fifty or so children can make.”

“Especially when you give them sugar.” Anakin added, grinning. “Although I'll go to work for you Rey, if there's a possibility of getting free candy.”

“You're not as cute as Cora Bean, grandpa.” Ben interjected, “although you can go down there and tell everyone to – what is the phrase you used to use? Chop chop?”

Rey snickered, “I'd love to see my boss's reaction if you told her that.”

“I know Jyn's father, and somewhere we have footage of Ben's mother shoving Jyn into a swimming pool.” he turned to Padme. “All the more reason to start going through all our things. We need to preserve such gems for future generations.”

“Well, mom's got a birthday coming up in May. You could make a compilation film. One for her, one for Uncle Luke.” Ben interjected. “besides, you need to get all the good baby pictures together to embarrass him when he visits with....” he paused, “what exactly is his girlfriend's name? It is a girlfriend, right?”

“Yes, her name is Nellie.” Padme answered, feeling a little more relaxed than she had for most of the weekend. “I'm not certain which I find a harder to grasp, the fact she's younger than you, or that she's an omega.”

*

“I haven't gotten Rey anything.” Leia said, more to the room than to her husband, half asleep next to her. “We leave the day after tomorrow and I don't have anything to give the woman.”

Han groaned, “sweetheart, it's three in the morning, get her an Amazon or Sephora gift card. Or you know, go out and get your toenails painted together while we're down there. You have time, it's not like grabbing a random bottle from the duty-free shop in the airport.” he turned over in the bed, reaching out and squeezing her arm. “Or is something else bothering you?”

She pressed her hands against her eyes. “we should both be asleep and I'm over here, going mad.”

He snorted into his pillow. “I think you're worried about entering another alpha's territory, namely that of your dad, along with our son's, and it doesn't help he's got an alpha girlfriend. So in short, the pecking order you're used to is thrown all to heck, and you don't know how to deal.”

She turned and snuggled up against his back, “you're relatively cool about all this.”

“My job is peacekeeper.” he let out a breath, “or the voice of reason, take your pick. Best I can tell, Padme and I commandeer the kitchen, Ben keeps everyone else out of it.” He sighed, “probably a good thing Luke's not coming. That many alphas would drive his new girlfriend – mate – whatever she is, pretty crazy. Not to mention if they're not mated yet, it's a bad idea to have an omega around our son.”

“Ben knows how to behave.” she rubbed her cheek against his shirt. “but I agree, the whole situation is rather odd.” she shivered at the sound of ice striking the window. “Can't forget to pack the sunblock.”

Han turned over and wrapped his arm around her, holding her close to him. Her mate smelled of soap and something she couldn't quite place; she never could. A distinct scent which simply to Leia said Han. “We won't. Need to finish up laundry, so we have clean clothes to take and clean clothes to wear when we get home.”

“Pfft. We're not wearing our winter clothes in Australia, so at least we'll not have trouble mixing the two wardrobes up.” she felt her body relax as he kissed the top of her head. “but I understand – socks and underwear.”

“Your mom will probably insist we do our laundry there before we come home. Where do Australians keep their washers anyway?” he snickered, “did they get in on the idea of having a separate room for laundry?”

“Last time I checked, yes.” she sighed, “knowing our son, he'll do our laundry for us if we're not watching, claiming we don't need to do it because we're on vacation.”

“He's a good kid. Too good.” he sighed, “I never got used to seeing him shirtless looking out from ads in magazines. I mean, that was the kid whose diapers I used to change.”

Leia snorted, “I know what you mean.” she stilled as his hand smoothed her hair. “fortunately, I never caught anyone drooling over a photograph of him. I used to wonder how his eyes could get so intense...” she sighed, “so glad he got out of that line of work.”

“Makes all of us.” he inhaled slowly. “We should get some sleep. Lots to do, and don't say we can sleep on the plane. I know you have movies you want to watch for part of the trip, I saw you checking out what's currently offered on Qantas Airlines.”

“I won't stay awake the entire time.” she yawned. “besides, don't want to miss any meals, but I'm still grabbing a bag of kettle corn before we board the plane.”

“Absolutely.” he hugged her tighter. “We'll get some sleep. We have packing to do and I need to check the fridge, see what we can clean out before we leave.”

Leia smiled against his chest. “Vegetable omelets for breakfast?”

“Of course, princess. Might have to have a screwdriver or two so we can finish off the orange juice.” He let out a happy sigh. “don't let me forget to turn off the ice maker.”

“I think I turned it off already.” she closed her eyes. “we'll double check in the morning.”

Outside, it continued to snow.

*

Ben ran a hand through his hair before nudging the door of Cora's room open, leaning against the frame, watching as she tried, with little success, to throw her animals up into the pet net. “Who's on guard duty tonight, Bean?”

“Mumbai.” she yawned. “Story time already?”

“Almost story time, yes.” He came into the room as she went to her bed and hauled herself into it. He came over as she laid down, tucking her in. “How many more days until school's out?”

“Three!” she grinned, “Christmas is next week!”

“Yeah, yeah it is.” He went over to the set of shelves and picked up Gwen's picture, and sat down in the chair near the bed. “I've got to talk to you about something kind of serious Bean.”

She made a face, “I didn't do it. Whatever it is, it wasn't me.”

He almost laughed, “No, you're not in trouble.” he let out a breath and set Gwen's picture on the bedside table. “Remember when you asked me about Aunt Gwen?”

“Uh huh. She lives in Vancouver, near the mountains.” She hugged the leopard in her arms. “She sent me Mumbai.”

“Right.” Ben managed a smile. “And Berlin Bear, not to be confused with Sydney or Atlanta Bear, even though they're all cousins, right?” He swallowed, “well, when you were a baby, just a few days old, Gwen and I agreed we'd wait until you turned twelve before you met her.” He let out a breath, “about a week ago, she called me, the first time in a few years.”

Cora's face fell, “does she want me back? I don't wanna go!”

“No, no honey.” he moved to sit on the bed, smoothing hair out of her face. “She's sick. The really bad kind of sick. Like Mr. Poe's mommy was.”

“Oh.” she blinked, looking from him to the photograph. “But Aunt Gwen's not old.”

“I know, Bean.” he squeezed her hand. “The sickness Mrs. Dameron had and Aunt Gwen has aren't exactly the same thing. Mrs. Dameron's was in her chest, Aunt Gwen's is in her head.” He managed a smile. “Since Aunt Gwen can't come down to Australia and see us, we're going to go up to Canada and see her in February.”

Cora's eyes went wide and she sat up, “is there going to be snow? Real snow?”

Ben almost laughed with relief. “So much you'll get sick of it. And yes, we're going to build snowmen.” He kissed the top of her head. “Grandma is going to bring you a coat, because it's frightfully cold up there. We'll miss the worst of summer, come back in time to get all the things you'll need for school.”

She yawned as he helped her settle back down in bed. “Is Miss Rey going too?”

“No Bean, she's not.” He managed a smile as Leroux came into the room and jumped onto the bed, settling down near the foot. “she has to work.”

“Where's Miss Rey's family?” she blinked, “she never talks about them, and she doesn't know about family things. Like dinner and trades I mean, truss... what is the word?”

“Traditions?” He offered, letting out a breath, “Miss Rey's family is in England.” he hated how the lie fell easily from him. But he couldn't exactly explain to his four year old about foster and group homes, and how some parents didn't want their children. “I think we need a light story to cheer us up, Bean.”

“What's Aunt Gwen like?” Cora piped up, “she has a pretty smile.”

Ben let his shoulders slump. “Yeah, she does have a nice smile. You two have the same one, did you know that?” he looked over at the photo and back at her. “though it's hard to tell when she's got all that lip junk on her mouth.”

She giggled, “daddy, Miss Rey wears lip junk too.”

“Yeah, she does.” he felt his ears go warm. “but not in such a bright shade of red. Or it looks brighter because of Gwen's hair color.” he sighed, “now, when we go up there, she might ask you why you're so short when she and I are so tall.”

“I've got a lot of growing to do.” she answered, pressing her face into Mumbai's head. “and besides, there are no tall girls in the family.”

“Don't let grandma hear that. She makes five foot zero look like nine foot ten.” He chuckled, “and she learned it from nana.”

Cora wrinkled her nose. “Nothing wrong with being short.”

“Exactly. It simply means gravity likes you better.” He shook his head, “a group of scientists did a study, they found out it's true.”

“Wow.” she yawned. “I'm tired.”

“I bet. We've had a busy day,” he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Good night, Cora Bean.”

“Night night, Daddy.” she closed her eyes as he tucked the covers a little closer and rose from the bed, turning the lights off. “Don't let the bed bugs bite.”

“I won't.” he chuckled, leaving the door half-shut before heading downstairs. He wanted to get a few things done for tomorrow before he went to bed.


End file.
